ASIA
DS
91&
.Ke4
1919a
-Ul^MULL UiMVtKblTY
LIBRARY
ITHACA, N.Y. 14853
Charles W Wason CollectiOB
on East Asia
CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
'3 1924 074 560 727
Cornell University
Library
The original of this book is in
the Cornell University Library.
There are no known copyright restrictions in
the United States on the use of the text.
http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074560727
In compliance with current
copyright law, Cornell University
Library produced this
replacement volume on paper
that meets the ANSI Standard
Z39.48-1984 to replace the
irreparably deteriorated original.
1995
First Korean Congress
Held in
The Little Theatre
17th and Delancey Streets
April 14, IS, 16
Philadelphia
1919
■Cj-I^--
First .Korean ■ Congress
'■'V-'-t»hiladelphia,.vii9:i^
FIRST DAY--MORNING SESSION
Dr. Philip Jaisohn, as temporary chairman, called
the Congress to order at 9.30 o'clock A. M.
INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS
By De. Philip Jaisohn : Ladies and gentlemen, you
are here on a very solemn and momentous mission. You
are here to deal with questions and problems that will
have a very far-reaching effect not only upon 20,000,000
of Koreans, but it will have an indirect influence upon
the peoples of China, Japan and Eastern Russia. Their
combined population is approximately 600,000,000 souls,
or nearly one-third of the total population of the world.
Korea is small in area, but owing to her geographical
situation she plays a very important part in that part
of Asia. So it is evident that you will have to do some
very clear thinking and that you will have to take some
firm and decisive steps tending to bring about perma-
nent peace in the Orient, that democracy and Chris-
tianity may be firmly established in the continent of
Asia.
Whenever we assemble on a great mission of this
kind it is proper and it is our duty to ask the guidance,
help and protection of God, who rules the whole world,
and from Whom only we can receive perfect wisdom,
strength and courage. Therefore I will ask Rev. Dr.
Floyd W. Tomkins, rector of Holy Trinity Church, Phila-
delphia, to offer a prayer.
PRAYER BY REV. FLOYD W. TOMKINS
1
Dr. Jaisohn : There is no natior iji the world whom
the Koreans love more than the Uniteil .States of Amer-
ica, excepting only their own country. There is a good rea-
son for this : Elver since Korea was opened -to foreign in-
tercourse, while the Korenns. hiave fo;an«l that.'most of the
foredgn nations wer'e thfere' fdr ' the" 'purpose of self-
exploitation or'pelitical aggrandizemeiii,' 'with America
it has not been so, ,',0n the contrary, America sent mis-
sionaries by hundreds ; they brought tbe Bible, with which
they gave this oppressed' ari(i''.unf<^rt'uRate people a new
hope and a new courage -in '.this life. The Evangelical
efforts of these missionaries were followed by hospitals,
schools, science, arts, music and the spirit of independence
and democracy. Thus came those American pioneers
and missionaries. Is it any wonder then that the Koreans
love America? We will therefore with the opening of
this Congress sing the national hymn of the country
which they love, next to Korea. I will therefore ask all
to rise and sing "America" with that true spirit of love
and veneration.
Led by the orchestra, the Congress rose and sang
"America."
Dr. Jaisohn: We are honored this morning by the
presence of a gentleman who is one of the most eminent
divines of this community. He is not only eminent in
our religious circles, but he stands high in this com-
munity, the state and the country as a champion of
civic righteousness. He stands for justice, whether in
our community, our commonwealth or in the nation,
and his sympathy is international. With his great big
Christian heart, softened after hearing the tale of the
Koreans, he came to us with that thorough Christian
sympathy and fellowship, and he is going to address j-^ou
this morning on subjects which I am sure will be of
great interest and very instructive to you. We have
many friends in America, and I take great pleasure in
presenting to you one of them. Dr. Floyd W. Tomkins.
4
ADDRESS
By Eev. Dr. Floyd Tom kins: My dear friends,
I take it as a great honor to be permitted to be here at
the opening of your Congress and to wish you in the
name of Philadelphia a hearty welcome. I am sure that
I can say that for the whole city, because it was here
that American independence was bom ; here it was that
the Constitution of our country was framed, and there
has always gone out from Philadelphia that deep interest
in those who seek, as we sought long ago, to secure
national independence.
I am perfectly sure that you have the sympathy
and the love of all the churches of Philadelphia. I can
assure you that the ministers of the Christian church
and the Christian people are not only full of sympathy,
but hope for Korea and their Republic, for whatever
they may be able to do to forward her independence.
Korea, let me say, is the pride of these later missionary
days. There has been no country that has responded so
quickly and so strongly to the appeal of missionaries as
your country — ^not large, but great. It is one of the
joys whenever we, as Christian people, meet togetljer
to talk about the missionary work which has been carried
on there as a mark of wonderful success and victory in
missionary effort and the devotion of the Koreans to
Christ; the faithfulness of your people in holding to the
reading of the Bible; their loyalty to all the principles
advocated by the Great Master of Christianity and their
spiritual life — all this appeals to every one who knows
anything about the missionary work in Korea and in
that it is the nation which stands the highest, so far
as numbers are concerned, in proportion, the highest
in Christianity perhaps on the face of the earth. Why,
my friends, Korea is today not far from being 100 per
cent a Christian land. You now face that which has
been faced many times before in the history of humanit5\
You face discouragement and difficulty; yes, more than
one obstacle and one difficulty in working out your own
salvation. I want to say to you, my dear brothers, first
of all, do not be discouraged. The result may not come
immediately, but it must come sooner or later.
I think you all recognize, as certainly I do, the
delicacy of the present situation, with the Peace Confer-
ence sitting in Paris and with Japan a member of that
Conference, it is a very difficult matter to take any posi-
tive action regarding the independence of Korea. Yet,
delicate thought it is, I can see no reason why Korea
should not be free, as Korea has already made her declara-
tion of independence, and I can not see, readily, why there
should not be recognition of such declaration on the part
of the United States. I can not, indeed, see why, regard-
less of whatever may be going on in Paris, although we
know very little of what is going on there, why America
should not, in Congress perhaps, when Congress meets
in the next session, declare her sympathy and her love
and her blessing and her godspeed for Korea in seeking
her independence. We can not very well, and I doubt
very much, if you will permit me to say so frankly,
whether it would be wise for you yourselves to attack
Japan. It would not be well to do so. You can not very
well, wisely, attack Japan. Not but what there are a
great many grounds upon which you have a basis for
attack, but in order to hold fast to those things on which
you claim independence; hold fast to the great principles
which are supposed to be governing the Conference in
Paris ; and whether or not you will gain most by pressing
those principles with all your might and urging them
upon the sympathy of the United States, claiming that
which you have a perfect right to claim— freedom. Then
planning what can be done to forward the work over
there as well as over here. Do not let us spoil our
work, perhaps, by getting into the bitterness of contro-
versy, which, although, may be perfectly righteous and
true, nevertheless may defeat our purposes. I believe
in what you want to do and I am glad to do whatever I
can to help you. What you want to do is to hold on to the
great principles of right regarding the nation and why
Korea has the full right and reason to claim that right.
That is why you men of Korea living here in the United
States feel that it is not only your duty, but your privi-
lege to leave your native land, as you do, to press forward
these rights. I believe that you will have the sympathy
of the United States and that we shall be able to have,
through Congress, some public declaration in favor of
your cause, and you may be perfectly sure that the great
heart of America will throb with sympathy and honest
interest and that the prayers of God's people will rise
that Korea may have that independence which she seeks.
I will say just one word more. Liberty and inde-
I)endence, under the happiest auspices, are not born in
a day. Victory comes only after many hardships are
endured. There has to be a kind of growth. There has
to be, also, a hearty and earnest faith, both in God and
man. We must not depend any more than the United
States did in 1776 on immediate victory, which came
only after many hardships. Keep your face to the light ;
let your heart beat with a splendid cheer; keep up your
struggles ; hold the vision before you and never despair.
(Dr. Tomkins here related a story concerning a boy who
liiought the Lord had ruined him because he gave him an
ungainly face.) Sometimes it does look as if God had
almost forgotten us; sometimes it does look as though it
was of very little use, bet oftentimes the spirit of man
is tested just like that and he will see whether or not
seeking what is right and true results in what is sought,
but you may know that sooner or later it will be right,
and he should keep up his faith and his spirit of hopeful-
ness and cheer. I say to you, good brother Christians,
keep up your spirit of hopefulness and do not give way
to adversity and as far as possible try to avoid discour-
agement, but bear up and hold up before yourselves and
before the world that cheerful blessed Christian spirit
which has marked Korea among the Christian nations of
the earth. May God help you and bless you in your
deliberations.
De. Jaisohn: Dr. Tomkins represents one of the
largest churches in the dty of Philadelphia. His stand-
ing in the community is of the highest, and he has come
to us with these encouraging words and with this whole-
some advice. I am sure you will appreciate what he
has said to you and you will remember what he has told
us so long as you live.
The first business in order now is the organization of
this Congress for the transaction of the necessary busi-
ness. I accepted the temporary chairmanship of the Com-
mittee on Arrangements for this Congress and have con-
cluded my duties in that capacity. It is now time for
you to elect a permanent presiding officer, a president
for this Congress. Nominations are in order.
NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT
Mr. Henry Chung: Ladies and gentlemen, I have
the honor to nominate as the presiding officer of this
Congress Dr. Philip Jaisohn, of Philadelphia.
7
The nomination was seconded by Dr. Syngman Rhee.
Mr. Chung moved that Dr. Philip Jaisohn be elected
president of the Congress.
The motion was seconded and unanimously carried.
ADDRESS
By President-elect Dr. Philip Jaisohn: Ladies
and gentlemen of the first Korean Congress, I thank you
for your confidence. You have honored me in electing
me the presiding officer for the rest of the sessions. I
want to say one word, as there is one thing certain: I
would rather prefer some other gentleman in my posi-
tion occupying this chair for this reason : You all know
that I am a naturalized citizen of this country. While
my heart and my soul is with you, and while I will do'
everything and anything within my capacity to help you
and to counsel with you, there is one point where I have
to stop. Having taken the oath of allegiance to the Con-
stitution of the United States, if there should be any
occasion during the sessions of this Congress in words
or acts, either intentional or unintentional, which in the
slightest degree would be in conflict withi the interests
of the United States or the laws of the United States I
will step out. With that understanding, if you will keep
me here as your presiding officer I will discharge the
duties to the best of my ability.
Dr. Rhee: That is understood. In fact, we don't
want any man to preside over this Congress unless he
is, above all, 100 per cent loyal American. It is indeed
of peculiar interest that the aims and aspirations of
the Korean people are identical with those of the Presi-
dent of the United States in seeking to form with our
allies a League of Nations. Therefore, Mr. President,
on behalf of all the delegates assembled here I assure
you that we understand the situation clearly and have
elected you as our presiding officer to discharge the duties
of your high position with the understanding that you
are, first of all, an American citizen and that you will
help us to espouse our cause.
-a
NOMINATION AND ELECTION OF SECRETARIES
Dr. Rhee: Mr. President, I take pleasure in
nominating the following delegates to the Congress to act
as secretaries :
Mr. B. C. Lyhm.
Mr. Henry Kim
Mr. Kiyhan Chang
Who, on motion, duly seconded, were elected.
President Jaisohn : . It seems to me that the first
duty of this Congress today is to send a message to
those who are struggling and fighting for our cause in
Korea, Manchuria and other places adjacent to Korea.
They are fighting your battles, and the least you can
do at this time is to send them a message of sympathy,
assuring them of your absolute devotion to the cause. At
the proper time the chair will entertain a motion to
appoint a committee to draft a message to the provisional
government of the Korean Republic. Following that,
the next business in order which I have in mind and
upon which I hope you will agree with me is this : The
American people by nature and by education love justice.
They stand up for fair play and a term that is used here,
"a square deal." You have a great moral force behind
you in the American people. You have some hundred
and ten millions of friends behind you if you only will
let them know your cause. Korea has been silent for
centuries. She never said a word to anybody about her-
self, her joys, her advantages, her grievances ; as a matter
of fact, she was well named "The Hermit Nation." Nobody
knew anything about her. This movement for inde-
pendence and Christian democracy is all a revelation to
the Americans. You go along the streets of Philadelphia
or in any other city in the nation and tell them you are
a Korean and a good many of the people whom you
meet will ask you, "Where is Korea?" I had a hard time
recently in convincing a man that Korea was not a part
of Canada. There is an advantage in being unknown,
for then when it is known it will raise the interest so
9
much more. You have a cause that deserves their favor-
able consideration, and when they know all the facts
of the case they will stren^hen you and get behind you
and support you. Therefore, you want to let them know
what you are and what your cause is. It takes a long
time to accomplish the desired result, but you have to
begin. Now you have begun, and I want you to keep
it up until Americans understand Korea. For that reason
I thought that a committee should be appointed by this
Congress to draw up an appeal to the American public
laying before them briefly, concisely and truthfully all
the facts regarding your cause and letting them know
something about the struggle you are having and the
cause thereof. Later in the session I will be glad to
entertain a motion to appoint such a committee.
Another committee ought to be appointed to draft
a resolution to be brought before this Congress, As I
have intimated before, Americans do not know who you
are or what you are struggling for. Now, I know that the
general public know very little about your aims or your
aspirations, and it is best for you to lay these before the
public and let them know the cause for which you are
fighting. In case you should be granted self-determina-
tion so you can have your own government, it should be
made known what you are going to do with your country
and your government. Some such object should be defi-
nitely stated or passed by this Congress.
Another resolution should be properly drafted and
passed by this Congress : The Japanese have been using
underhand methods in foreign diplomacy, and they have
adopted the policy of the old German diplomacy. Her
whole policy, every institution from the government down
to every-day life, was copied after that of Prussia. Their
government policy is identical with that of Prussia, or
as it was in Prussia until recently. Their object is to
gain their point by fair means or foul. You Koreans
have a different sentiment. You believe in a square
deal. When you fight an enemy you want to fight openly
and frankly, and not vdth underhand methods. You do
10
not get behind a man and assassinate his character or
smirch the honor of a woman or murder children as the
Japanese do because they want to create terror among
the Korean pof)ulation identical to the methods used by
the Germans in Belgium. They may have success for
a time, but they never will succeed in the end. If any
one doubts the accuracy of this statement just recall the
history of the world war for the last four years, when
the mighty German troops swept over the Belgian border,
filling the minds of the people with horror. They thought
with these methods they would terrorize the world. But
there were a few other nations who were not terrorized.
On the contrary, these atrocities aroused them to the
rescue. Take the United States, for instance, if the Ger-
mans had acted decently and had conducted their war
humanely I doubt if the United States would have gone
into that war. But from the very fact that their bar-
barity, their inhuman treatment of women and children,
aroused the feelings of the people in this country long
before the Government declared war, I dare say ninety
per cent of the American people were anxious to declare
war on Germany. The same thing will happen in the
Orient. Japan is a small model of Prussia in Asia. Now,
if Japan keeps up the oppression and these methods in
that part of the world, some country — ^I do not know
whether it will be America or some other nation that
has red blood and who loves justice and who loves a
square deal — ^will step in and support your cause. Before
we do anything I think it will be gracious. Christian-
like and manly for this Congress to send a message to
the Japanese people, telling them what wrongs their
government have committed against Korea; what out-
rages they have practiced upon your people, and if they
keep up that policy in Korea that Japan herself will
meet the same fate that Germany has met. It is Chris-
tianlike for you to give them at least that much warning,
and while that may not do any good, it is manly of
you at least to tell them that this struggle will continue
until the last Korean loses his life.
II
Dr. Rhee moved that the chairman appoint a committee of
three delegates of this Congress to draw up an appeal in accord-
ance with the suggestion made by President Jaisohn.
The motion was seconded and carried.
The President appointed on the committee "on appeal
to the American people by the people of Korea" :
Dr. Syngman Rhee,
Rev. Charles L. Lee,
Mr. Y. N. Park.
President Jaisohn : The chair will now entertain
a motion to appoint a committee to prepare "A Message
to the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea."
Dr. C. H. Min moved that a committee of three delegates of
this Congress be appointed to draft "a message to be sent to the
Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea."
The motion was seconded and carried.
The President appointed on the committee :
Dr. C. H. Min,
Mr. Henry Chung,
Mr. S. H. Chunn.
President Jaisohn: The chair will entertain a
motion to appoint a committee to offer a resolution stat-
ing the Aims and Aspirations of the Korean people.
Mr. Ilhan New moved that the chair appoint a committee of
three to draw up "a resolution stating the aims and aspirations
of the Korean people."
The motion was seconded and carried.
The President appointed on the committee:
Mr. Ilhan New,
Mr. Henry Kim,
Miss Joan Woo.
President Jaisohn: The chair will entertain a
motion to appoint a committee to draw up "a resolution
to be presented to the Japanese people."
Dr. Syngman Rhee moved that the chair appoint a commit-
tee of three "to draw up a message to be sent to the Japanese
people."
The motion was seconded and carried.
12
The President appointed on the committee :
Mr. p. K. Yoon,
Mr. Cho Lim.
Miss Nodie Doka Kim,
President Jaisohn: At this time 1 wish to read
a telegram from Mr. Kiusik Kim, Korean delegate to the
Peace Conference of Paris :
TELEGRAM
Paris Peace Conference, April 11, 1919.
Have filed petition with the Conference. Meeting with sjrmpa-
thetic treatment. My earnest prayer for success to your Congress.
Sacrifices alone can hring success. Keep up the fight until last
Korean is extinct. With this determination I believe we will win.
President Jaisohn: I have other news of impor-
tance: On the 28th of March the Korean people had
a great demonstration in Korea without being disorderly,
simply talking in an orderly meeting. The Japanese
soldiers charged them with bayonets, killing over 1,200
men and women. These Japanese gendarmes went
around and tore down eight Christian churches through-
out the city ; they burned the houses of the native Chris-
tian pastors of those churches; they took the women
folk of those Christians, divested them of their clothing
and paraded them naked through the streets before those
crowds as a warning that if anybody joined this demon-
station his family would meet with the same fate. Those
who were wounded were taken to the hospital, but the
Japanese authorities told the doctors not to treat them
or to care for them, for the reason that they were
criminals and that they were better dead than alive in
order to secure peace for Japan. They wanted to know
whether there is any possibility for America or any
other nation who has Red Cross service to send them
some aid with medical supplies to take care of these
wounded Koreans. It seems to me that if these facts are
known, in fact, I am sure that the American Red Cross
will render assistance. It is not a question of a partisan
issue; it is not a question of politics; it is a question of
humanity. It seems to me that if we here assembled in
13
this Congress will draw up a telegram and send it to
the Red Cross Headquarters in Washington and lay the
facts before them and ask them whether they can do
anything for those wounded men that they will do so.
If they do not do anything for good reasons you cannot
compel them, but it at least is worth while making an
appeal. If such a procedure is agreeable to you I will
entertain the motion to appoint a committee to draw up
a telegram to be sent to the headquarters of the Red
Cross at Washington.
Dr. Syng^man Rhee moved that the chair appoint a commit-
tee of three to draw up an appeal to the Red Cross Society at
Washington.
The motion was seconded and carried.
The President appointed on that committee:
Dr. Syngman Rhee,
Dr. Charles L. Lee,
Mr. Henry Chung,
Dr. Philip Jaisohn, Ex Officio,
President Jaisohn: At this time I want to give
some data as to what manner of a man a Korean is. If
I tell you "the Koreans are a great people" that does
not mean anything. But I am going to tell you what
Koreans have done. The best way you can tell any-
thing about a man, as to what kind of a man he is, is
to learn something about what he has done. If the
Koreans are given independence, are they by education
or knowledge of the world fit or able to carry on self-
government? That question will arise in the minds of
a good many American people. There are demonstra-
tions going on all around. Russia has about twenty
different governments today, and it is in chaos from
top to bottom. China became a republic, and they have
had civil strife ever since. The government is not stable.
There is a constant strife between factions, and there
is no appreciable improvement made in any line. Now
the question arises in the minds of Americans, "Are
the Koreans any better than they?" I won't answer that
14
question now, but I will simply tell you what Koreans
have done right under your own eyes. On the islands of
Hawaii there are over 5000 Koreans living under the
jurisdiction of the United States. They came there
about ten years ago, principally for the purpose of work-
ing on the sugar plantations. They came not from the
elite class of Koreans, but from the humble walks of
life in the interior towns and from the farms of Korea,
without any appreciable education. Among these 5000
people there were about 3000 wage earners, and the bal-
ance of this number consisted of the wives and children.
There were about 600 children among them. For these
children they built twenty-eight schools. They spend
annually $12,000 for these schools — $750 for each school,
or $20 per head for each child. They have sixteen
churches, largely supported by the American home mis-
sions, but the Koreans pay the pastors' salaries. They
spent for religious purposes a little over $5,000 last year.
They maintain benevolent and charitable institutions for
social welfare, helping out unfortunate fellow country-
men who have become sick and not able to earn a
living. They spent over $25,000 last year for these
charitable and benevolent purposes. These figures may
sound small, but then it must be remembered that the
earning capacity of these 3,000 men does not amount to
more than $500 a year per person. Notwithstanding the
small wages they earn, these people own school buildings
and lands valued at $45,000. Last year the Koreans in
Hawaii contributed over $3,000 to the American Red
Cross. They bought in two years Liberty Bonds amount-
ing to $80,000. If we figure up these sums and compare
them with what they earned, we find they have spent only
70 per cent for their actual living expenses and 30 per
cent of their total earnings for religious, educational,
charitable and patriotic causes. This is a fair example
of what Koreans have done for their communities in
these islands.
Thirty thousand Koreans were armed and equipped
by the Russian government, and they fought on the
15
eastern front under General Lin, and when the Russian
government was demoralized they came back to Siberia
in conjunction with Czecho-Slovak prisoners, fighting all
the way the German prisoners and the Bolshevik follow-
ers. You heard of the other people as prisoners, but
you never heard of the Koreans; but it is a fact just
the same that the Koreans fought and lost their lives
in just as large a proportion as the Czecho-Slovaks or
any other nationality among the eastern armies. In
Hawaii and America there are about 1500 men of the
Korean race who were liable to military duties, from
which 210 volunteered their services to the United States
army and navy. Of this number, as far as we know,
four of them have lost their lives in France either through
wounds, disease or killed on the battlefield; three were
wounded, which is a fairly good percentage of their con-
tribution to the cause considering their number. The
fact is this, that these people were not asked to serve,
but they went voluntarily. I have another concrete
example to show you besides that, and that is the simple
and small Korean village in the Hawaiian Islands. They
are thoroughly democratic, religious and sincere in their
mode of life and strictly obedient to the laws of the land.
These Korean communities are very well thought of by
the Americans in Hawaii. You have heard objections
to Japanese and Chinese immigration, but you have never
heard objections to Korean immigration. The Japanese
build their hideous temples everywhere in Hawaii. They
carry Japan into Hawaii and into America. They want
to establish a little Japan wherever they settle. You
Americans do not want that class. If a man comes into
this country to make his living, he intends to live here,
and if he does not become a part and parcel or an
integral part of that community you do not want him.
You will never make a Japanese anything else but a Japa-
nese. I know that, because I have studied them. I have
met them and lived among them. Possibly I know them
better than most of you do.
The world is certainly progressing. We have with
16
3
c
i
U
us several ladies from Korea. You know formerly women
did not have very many opportunities in Korea. Men
don't have either, for that matter ; but it has been worse
for the women. The spirit of the age is progressiveness ;
the force of the onward march of civilization has reached
into Korea to its womanhood. We have with us today a
young Korean lady who will some day become a cham-
pion of her sex in her own country. I refer to Miss Nodie
Dora Kim, who is attending one of the colleges in Ohio,
and I would like her to tell us what Korean women think
of the present situation.
ADDRESS
By Miss Nodie Dora Kim : Mr. President and dele-
gates to the Congress, I want to let you know how the
women of Korea are taking part in this great cause for
liberty, for the service of humanity and for 20,000,000
who live in my country; what the Korean women have
done ; what position they are in ; what has been the past,
what is the present and what will be the future. Before
my grandmother's days women of Korea had very little
to do along political lines or in social work. They were
looked upon as a sort of inferior creature by the Korean
men, but of late years the Korean man has realized that
the women of the civilized nations are on the same equal-
ity of freedom as the men. They see France depends
upon her women. They know how a peasant girl led an
army to victory and saved the life of France. They see
America, the great leading nation of the world, giving
equality to the women. So you see when the boys went to
PYance the women did the work at home. The girls went
into the munitions factories, they became conductors on
the street cars and they showed intelligence and capability
in the highest positions. So we, the Korean women, are
co-operating with the men of Korea and are trying to help
in securing her independence and liberty. (Miss Kim
here related some of the atrocities practiced upon women
and children in Korea by Japanese soldiers.) Girls are
suffering for Korea, and the men have to realize that they
have to raise their women to an equality with them. The
women and the men realize this. There used to be a time
when it was a disgrace to be born a girl in a Korean fam-
ily, but boys were welcome. During these late years the
17
girls are the pride of the families, and they are anxious
to give them even a better chance than many of the boys.
I know a friend of mine with a family of three boys and
two girls. Just one of the boys but both of the girls were
sent to schools. The sacrifice is wonderful for them with
their poor means, but they are anxious to send the girls
to schools. The girls have proven that they have sonae
intelligence, as well as faults, and they showed their
ability whenever they were given a fair chance. So, I
tell you that in the future Korea will be proud of her
girls. They are ready to fight for liberty and freedom
for the little innocent girls who were abused, whose blood
has been shed on the soil of Korea, and will give their life,
if necessary, to be free.
President Jaisohn : It is certainly a revelation to
me that a young Korean woman can get up in a gathering
like this and make such a speech as we have listened to
just now.
Dr. Rhee: How many delegates from the States
are present?
President Jaisohn : All the delegates have not yet
arrived. They will be here from different parts of the
country. New York, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri,
Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Colorado, California, Penn-
sylvania; one from London, England; three from Ireland.
I believe a number of delegates from the Orient can not
be here. They haven't time to get here in time for this
Congress.
Dr. Rhee : Our people from the Orient are not here,
but they knew about this Congress being held.
President Jaisohn: One of the things the Japa^
nese government tries to do is to discourage Koreans
coming or going to any foreign countries at all. By
their going they will have freedom and independence
which is offensive to the Japanese government. There-
fore, anybody who goes to the United States or any of the
other foreign countries or desires to go is put through a
third-degree examination before he is allowed to go. We
have with us this morning a gentleman who is professor
of sociology in Oberlin College, Ohio, and he is also
director of the Mid-European Union. I refer to Professor
16
Herbert A. Miller, who is with us today, and I will ask
him to address us briefly.
ADDRESS
By Professor Herbert A, Miller: The world is
making very rapid progress. There are an enormous
number of problems to be solved. There are more prob-
lems than the world ever dreamed of before and more
discontent than we ever have had. Without any ques-
tion, the most dominant unrest in the world is the one
which you represent here. The exploitation of one group
by another has come to be a condition which can no longer
survive. In 1776 the Declaration of Independence on the
part of the American colonies was the first demonstration
that an alien nation could not control, against their wills,
any other people. When the United States went into the
war. President Wilson said, and he repeated it again and
again, that there must come out of this war the applica-
tion of the principle of self-determination. Gradually the
people of the world have gotten this idea into their minds.
It has been a diflScult idea, because we were so carried
away with the notion of an efficient government rather
than a satisfied people, that it was difficult to see that even
though a state might be disordered for a time, when it was
changing from the government with authority to the
government of the common weal. But we have got to see
now, because it has been seen that the one all persuasive
law of human beings is that there cannot be a successful
control by force. It so happens that I have given a great
deal of attention to the histoid of the natural conscious-
ness of the Czecho-Slovaks with whom your people have
been associated in the world war. "riieir history has
made clear to the world that after five hundred years —
the first five hundred years they were subject to German
control and yet have come out now, when force had been
applied during all tiiat period, and thrown up or off the
yoke and have shown to us that not only can they do it, but
you can do it. The law of human nature is such that we
all of us wish to die rather than be ruled by people
whom we don't choose. I think nothing has touched me
more for a long time than the way you applied the state-
ment that you would fight for freedom so long as a single
Korean remains. Whether the Japanese now see it or
not is not so significant, it seems to me, as the fact that
your pleas and your presence here are making it clear
19
to the world that the principle for which you stand must
be applied before there can be a world peace or a world in
which there can be any satisfaction to human beings. In
other words, you have illustrated one of the most
fundamental laws of human nature, the struggle of
human beings for freedom, for superstruction, which
politically means, that we have come to accept denioc-
racy as the most fundamental principle of self realiza-
tion. The imperialistic ideal of Japan will become too
persistent, and the Korean question is coming up. You,
the Americans, and the common people, as President Wil-
son has said, everywhere are democratic in their ideals.
Your cause is the cause of Democracy. There is one other
thing, however, which we must never forget as being one
of the essentials of world democracy; that is, after the
group gets free it should co-operate with other groups.
In other words, Koreans, Chinese, Japanese, Russians
must live together in the same general part of the world.
The world is now getting to be very small. It takes but a
few seconds to get a cable message or a wireless message
across the Pacific, and in a few days, possibly, an airship
will cross the Atlantic. In a few months, or certainly in a
few years it will cross the Pacific. So you will have to
live with Chinese, Japanese, Russians ; Ajnericans, North
and South, and with Europeans in the world's society.
Those two things have got to be kept in mind, no
party, no nation, no people, which has its traditions and
its ideals, when coerced with regard to those ideals by
an alien group, will not resent, and it cannot be done. I
think we want to say that word until it reverberates
through the world. Imperialism no longer can be dom-
inant. It cannot be done; it never could be done. Ger-
many tried it; Austria tried it, and Japan is trying it, and
it has been written clearly across the pages of the world
that it cannot be done. You gentlemen present here are
students in colleges. It is a wonderful age to be a student.
Some of you may have known me as the President of
the Association of the Cosmopolitan Club a few years
ago. Your business in your college and in your com-
munity is to force this idea of democratic fulfillment
to use this technical term for Korean self-realization. It
is a real thing. In other words, you must not sit back
and study and think, but you must learn when you get out
of college that it is your business to take back to Korea
this principle of self-realization. Perhaps, not only must
this democratic fulfillment be reached for Korea, but it is
20
just as important and just of as much consequence to
teach the Americans that in your colleges, as it is for you
to learn it. The problems of the world now are the
problems of society. The great fundamental problem of
the world is that of living together. We have a part to
play in the world's history in the maintaining of this
principle, and men and women must play their part, and
Korean men must work with the Korean women, not only
for the realization of the Korean idea of independence,
but for the realization of the democracy of the world.
President Jaisohn: I thank Professor Miller for
the very interesting address with which he has favored
us. I take pleasure in announcing to you another visitor
with us this morning. Prof. Alfred J. G. Schadt.
ADDRESS
By Prof. Alfred J. G. Schadt: Mr. President, I
was delighted to hear the address delivered by that young
Korean lady. Miss Kim. It was a revelation to me that a
lady from Korea could get up and deliver such a fine
address. It is a mystery to me how she can speak with
such purity of accent, and I must congratulate her in
public for what she has done. Having lived in St. Peters-
burg, Russia, for a number of years, having been educated
there and having been a teacher to the Imperial Family in
Russia some time, thirty-five years ago, I spoke yesterday
at a meeting, with Russia as my theme, and I was very
anxious to tell the people what menace there is before
them. I do think that there is the dawn of a new day in
Russia, and it did not take me long to convince my audi-
ence that that new dawn was not far distant, and I see
the dawn of a new Korea, and of a free Korean Republic.
We want to create sentiment and inform the people of
America on this subject and tell them what Korea is and
where Korea is situated. (The speaker here referred to
the necessity of educating the American people.) I have
a great reverence for a greater Korea, China and all the
Orient. We expect a great deal from Christian Korea.
In this city of Philadelphia there is a training school
for Russian missionaries on Spring Garden Street, and
yesterday I went up there to that school to see whether
I could not get some of them to play music at the lecture
last night. The Principal said : "No, the men go out to
preach at night. They have seven missions in Philadel-
21
phia where they are preaching in Russian tonight, and
our men are not entertaining at all because they have to
go out to speak." So that was very interesting, indeed,
and no doubt this is a revelation to a great many people
here in this city. The missionaries are training them-
selves to go to Russia as soon as it is a place of safety and
as soon as the Bolsheviki have been overcome and are
delegated to the place of eternal punishment. As soon
as the Bolsheviki have been replaced from western Russia
then these people from Philadelphia will establish about
fifty missions in the different parts of that country. A
great deal is being done in Russia, and I have no doubt
that Korea is doing the same kind of work in America.
We are trying to have you become fit and prepare you for
work in Korea here in America, as the future independ-
ence of Korea depends on the work that you will do. I
thank you for the honor that you have conferred upon
me in permitting me to deliver an address to you, and I
wish to pay you my sincerest congratulations and my best
wishes in your work. I trust that your hopes and our
hopes will be realized, and that we will soon see Korea on
the map as "The Republic of Korea." I hope and pray
for a ratification, confirmation and consummation coming
from this Congress, and that our President will recognize
all that you are doing now in your effort to establish the
Republic of Korea. I have great faith in our President,
and faith that the Monroe Doctrine is successful in for-
eign lands. When I was in Petrograd, whenever I would
speak about the Monroe Doctrine, everybody would burst
out laughing, treating it as a joke, and especially the old
Kaiser when he indulged in that kind of sentiment, but
not anymore. It is no joke now. In London, Paris, Petro-
grad, Pekin or in Tokio, the Monroe Doctrine is estab-
lished and will never be questioned or ridiculed by any
foreign power. That is due to our great President, Mr.
Wilson. The report now is current that the Treaty of
peace will be signed in a very short time. It would be
fitting that it should be signed on Easter Sunday, when
Christ has arisen. And He will have risen indeed when
another Treaty is signed and the Peace of the World is
obtained. When the Treaty of Peace is established we
will all look forward to a great deal of prosperity and
happiness, not only in this country, but throughout the
entire world.
President Jaisohn : As we still have about twenty
22
minutes before the time of adjournment, if anyone here
wishes to submit any subject, the Congress shall be glad
to have them do so.
A Delegate: If we wish to establish a democratic
government, I hope that we will not leave out our women.
It seems to me that as we make a fight for our inde-
pendence, we should make it our slogan to grant Woman
Suffrage under favorable conditions. I am sure that our
women will fight as well as our men, and that they could
serve our nation as well. I wish our friends would con-
sider this question as one of the features of our Congress.
On motion, a recess was declared until 1.30 P. M.
23
FIRST DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION
President Jaisohn called the Congress to order at
1.30 P. M. The minutes of the morning session were
read, and, on motion, after minor corrections were made,
approved.
President Jaisohn : I will ask for a report from
the Committee on Resolutions, appointed to send a mes-
sage to the Provisional Government of Korea.
Chairman Min: Mr. President, the committee is
ready to report. I desire to present our report at thjs
time.
MESSAGE TO THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT
OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
RESOLUTION I.
WHEREAS, in the hearts of twenty millions of our
countrymen, there is a deep-seated feeling of resentment
towards the Japanese Government on account of the
unjust maner in which Japan has destroyed our sover-
eignty and annexed our country by force and treachery;
WHEREAS, the Japanese rule in Korea has pro-
duced a very deplorable condition among our people, eco-
nomically, educationally, religiously and moraUy, and
Japan's treatment of our people has been consistently
barbarous, inhuman and unbearable ;
WHEREAS, on March first, 1919, some three mil-
lions of our people rose up and declared their independ-
ence from Japan, and organized a provisional govern-
ment, which is composed of men of high Christian char-
acter and liberal education, all believing in democratic
principle of government ;
WHEREAS, these patriotic people in our motherland
are fighting for our liberty as well as theirs, under the
most unfavorable conditions and against great odds,
shedding their blood freely for the cause of freedom and
humanity ;
24
c
I)
c
c
V
>
THEREFORE, Be it resolved by this Congress as-
sembled, that we, of the Korean race in the United States
and Hawaii, hereby solemnly declare that we pledge our
moral, material and physical support to the cause of our
country's freedom;
Be it further resolved, that we shall never relax our
efforts to restore the inalienable rights of our people, and
we shall do everything in our power and means to help
and encourage these patriotic brethren at home ;
Be it further resolved, that we shall present for the
world's information the true facts of our just grievances
and Japan's outrageous conduct against our people, and
that we shall use every means at our disposal so that
other nations may know the truth and form an intelligent
and just opinion of our case;
Be it further resolved, that a copy of this resolution
be translated and engrossed and forwarded to the Presi-
dent of the Provisional Government of the Korean
Republic.
Henry Chung
S. H. Chunn
C. H. Min.
Chairman Min : Mr. President, I suggest that this
resolution be translated and that the message to our
Provisional Government be forwarded. It is our desire
to encourage our brethren at home while they are shed-
ding their blood for us.
President Jaisohn: You have heard the resolu-
tion. I would like to hear your views on the subject. The
question is open for debate to every member of the
Congress. Those who desire to make suggestions or have
any changes to recommend, or any other sentiment to be
brought forward, this is the opportunity for all of you
to express your views in the matter. Some of the gentle-
men can talk in English, but others who wish to express
themselves in the Korean language may do so.
Me. Heney Chung: Mr. President, we would like
to have all the world know that this movement is the
movement of the Korean race. Wherever there is a
Korean he is affected. The very fact that the Provisional
Government is composed of men and women of all classes,
25
and of all regilious beliefs, is an eloquent evidence that
it is not, as it has been called by the Japanese, the move-
ment of a few, but on the contrary, that it is a movement
advanced by the entire Korean population. And there-
fore, I think it is fit and proper that we should send this
message to the Provisional Government of the Korean
Republic, and at the same time let it be made known to
the world that every Korean both in and outside of
Korea is heart and soul back of this movement. There-
fore, I think, Mr. Chairman, that we are in hearty favor
of accepting this resolution and of sending this message
to our Provisional Government in Korea.
PREsroENT JAISOHN: If there are any delegates
here who would like to speak in Korean, I would like to
have them do so.
Me. p. 0. Cho {Speaking in Korean, which was
afterward translated, in part, said) : It seems very advis-
able that the Chairman or somebody in the Congress
should give full information as to the existence of our
Provisional Government in order to understand whether
it would be advisable to send this copy over to the Provi-
sional Government.
President Jaisohn: The Korean Independence
Union has an organized Provisional Government on the
border of Manchuria, having elected a President and some
eight or nine executive officers and members of the
cabinet. Mr. Sohn is the Provisional President. Their
object is to have a government as the first step in oppos-
ing the existing government— the Japanese Government.
The Provisional Government must first obtain recognition
from other powers. It is absolutely necessary that we
should have a separate and distinct new government
which will deal with the world, whatever their existing
government under Japanese guidance may be. I under-
stand that an ofiicial message came to Dr. Syngman Rhee,
in the form of cable despatch and also from other sources
to the effect that there has been organized a new Provi-
sional Government and that they represent the revolu-
26
tionists in Korea. (There were further discussions by
Dr. W. H. Lee, Dr. Syngman Rhee, Mr. Henry Chung,
Mr. P. N. Park, Mr. New, in regard to the status of the
Provisional Government and its present headquarters,
which was summed up as follows by President Jaisohn) .
President Jaisohn: It does not make any differ-
ence whether the President of the Provisional Korean
Government is in prison or whether he is in France ; he
may be in America; that does not make any difference.
As I understand it, this Korean Independence Union has
delegated to them the power to elect these gentlemen as
officers of a provisional government. It does not make
the government non-existent, because it is not generally
known where it is located. It is the will of the people
that makes the government, and it does not make any
difference whether the President is in jail or where he is.
If you will recall when the Germans swept into Belgium,
the Belgian government could not stay in Brussels, and
they changed their capital to Havre, France, entirely
foreign soil, but the world recognized the Belgium Gov-
ernment just as much as if the King and Cabinet were
established in Belgium. If you read the history of this
country when the Revolutionary War broke out, you will
recall that the Government was not established in any one
place, they were forced to move around. When the British
chased them from one place they moved their capital to
another. They had a capital in Yorktown, and then they
came to Philadelphia. That does not make the govern-
ment illegal. As somebody has well expressed it in
Korean, "The new Provisional Government of Korea is
a personification of the will of the people of Korea." It
does not make any difference whether the Grovernment is
located in Manchuria, Philadelphia or Paris. There is a
will manifested by these Korean revolutionists and they
should be the governors of Korea, Now we want to
recognize them. Whether or not we believe in the cause
that these Koreans are fighting for today, that is the
question that is before us, and the question as to where
they are located will be developed in good time. The
27
Secretary of State of this Country, Mr. Lansing, is in
Paris today; but he is Secretary of State just the same.
The question before you now is, on the adoption of the
resolution presented by Mr. Min, Chairman of the Com-
mittee, to send a message to the Provisional Government
of Korea. The motion has been duly seconded and the
question is on the adoption of the motion.
The motion was unanimously carried, and the resolu-
tion to send a message to the Provisional Government of
Korea adopted.
President Jaisohn: Before taking up the next
resolution I have several telegrams here which I will read
to the Congress at this time. The first one is from the
Korean National Association, Sacramento, California,
It reads as follows:
"Congratulations to the Korean Congrress at Independence Hall,
Philadelphia, April 14th. We earnestly hope for your success.
We are all behind you and support you with one heart and soul
for the welfare of our countrymen and the Independence of Korea.
Signed,
THE KOREAN NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,
Sacramento, California."
There are other telegrams along the same line which
will be read at a later session. I will now call on the com-
mittee appointed to prepare and send an appeal to the
Red Cross Society at Washington. I would like to have
the committee make a report at this time.
Me. Syngman Rhee : Mr. President, we have sent
the following telegram :
April 14th, 1919.
American Red Cross,
Washington, D. C.
Appeals from Korea have reached us for assistance from the
American Red Cross for the wounded among the revolutionists
in Seoul and other cities. Medical attention refused them. Please
see what you can do. Answer.
KOREAN CONGRESS,
^ ^. .,. ^ . . _ Philadelphia.
Dr. Philip Jaisohn, President.
1537 Chestnut Street.
President Jaisohn : We can discontinue the com-
mittee on sending a message to the Red Cross Society,
with thanks. Next in order will be a report from the
23
committee, "To prepare an appeal to the American
people." Dr. Rhee, I will ask you to read the report.
Dr. Syngman Rhee: The Committee reports the
following as "An Appeal to America."
AN APPEAL TO AMERICA
We, the Koreans in Congress, assembled in Philadelphia, April
14-16, 1919, representing eighteen million people of our race who
are now si&ering untold miseries and barbarous treatment by the
Japanese military authorities in Korea, hereby appeal to the great
and generous AJinerican people.
For four thousand years our country enjoyed an absolute
autonomy. We have our own history, our own language, our own
literature and our own civilization. We have made treaties with
the leading nations of the world; all of them recognized our inde-
pendence, including Japan.
In 1904, at thft beginning of the Russo-Japanese war, Japan
made a treaty of alliance with Korea, gtiaranteeing territorial
integrity and political independence of Korea, to co-operate in the
war against Russia. Korea was opened to Japan for military
purposes and Korea assisted Japan in many ways. After the war
was over, Japan discarded the treaty of alliance as a "scrap of
paper" and annexed Korea as a conquered territory. Ever since
she has been ruling Korea with that autocratic militarism whose
prototype has been well illustrated by Germany in Belg:ium and
Northern France.
The Korean people patiently suffered under the iron heel of
Japan for the last decade or more, but now they have reached the
point where they are no longer able to endure it. On March 1st
of this year some three million men, mostly of the educated class
composed of Christians, Heaven Worshipers, Confucians, Budd-
hists, students of mission schools, under the leadership of the
pastors of the native Christian churches, declared their independ-
ence from Japan and formed a provisional government on tiie
border of Manchuria. Through the news dispatches and through
private telegrams we are informed that 32,000 Korean revolutionists
have been thrown into dungeons by the Japanese and over 100,000
men, women and children have been either killed or wounded so far.
The Koreans have no weapons with which to light, as the Japanese
had taken away from them everything since the annexation, even
pistols and fowling pieces. What resistance they are offering now
against the Japanese soldiers and gendarmery is with pitchforks
and sickles. In spite of this disadvantage and the horrible casualty
among the Koreans, these people are keeping up their resistance
and Ais demonstration is now nation-wide, including nearly all
provinces. Japan has declared martial law in Korea and is
butchering by thousands these unfortunate but patriotic people
every day.
The Koreans in the United States and Hawaii have sent their
representatives to Philadelphia, the Cradle of Liberty, to formulate
a concerted plan with a view to stop this inhuman treatment of
their brethren by the "Asiatic Kaiser," and to devise ways and
means to help along the great cause of freedom and justice for our
native land.
We appeal to you for support and sympathy because we know
29
you love justice; you also fought for liberty and democracy, and
you stand for Christianity and humanity. Our cau^ is a ]ust one
before the laws of God and man. Our aim is freedom from mili-
taristic autocracy; our object is democracy for Asia; our hope is
universal Christianity. Therefore we feel that our appeal merits
your consideration.
You have already championed the cause of the oppressed and
held out your helping hand to the weak of the earth's races. Your
nation is the Hope of Mankind, so we come to you.
Beside this, we also feel that we have the right to ask your
help for the reason that the treaty between the United States and
Korea contains a stipulation in article 1, paragraph 2, which states
as follows:
"If other powers deal unjustly or oppressively with either
government, the other will exert their good offices, on being in-
formed of the case, to bring about an amicable arrangement, thus
showing their friendly feelings."
Does not this agreement make it incumbent ujKm America to
intercede now in Korea's behalf?
There are many other good and sufficient reasons for America
to exert her good offices to bring about an amicable arrangement,
but we mention only one more, which is a new principle recently
formulated at the peace conference in Paris. We cannot do better
than to quote President Wilson's words, who is one of the founders
of this new international obligation :
"The principle of the League of Nations is that it is the
friendly right of every nation a member of the League to call
attention to anything that she thinks will disturb the peace of
the world, no matter where that thing is occurring. There is
no subject that touches the peace of the world that is exempt
from inquiry or discussion."
We, therefore, in the name of humanity, liberty and democ-
racy and in the name of the American-Korean treaty and in the
name of the peace .of the world, ask the government of the United
States to exert its good offices to save the lives of our freedom-
loving brethren in Korea and to protect the American missionaries
and their families who are in danger of losing their lives and
property on account of their love for our people and their faith
in Christ.
We further ask you, the great American public, to give us
your moral and material help so that our bretlu^n in Korea will
know that your sj-mpathy is with them and that you are truly the
champions of liberty and international justice.
President Jaisohn : You have heard "The Appeal
to America," as it has been read by Dr. Rhee. I would
like to hear from you further on this appeal, as well as
any delegate to the Convention who may wish to speak
on the question.
Dr. Rhee : Mr. President, I don't believe that there
is any need to make any changes at all in that resolu-
30
tion. I think the resolution should be adopted as read,
and desire to make a motion to that effect.
President Jaisohn: Gentlemen, this is a Democ-
racy. You do not want to take any important action
unless you get the views of the people. We would like
to get the views of this Congress, who represent their
people. This is not old Korea; this is new Korea. We
want to go by the will of the people, by the majority
present. Speech is free, the press is free and that is one
of the blessings we enjoy in this land.
Mr. Henry Chung: Mr, President, I agree with
your views. I am sure that the governmen,t of the Re-
public of Korea will not use such a gag rule or any of
those undesirable methods used in Japan. We have our
friends in Korea who are defending our rights in a firm
but passive manner. They cannot make any appeal
to other powers, because the Japanese would not let such
appeals go out of Korea. Therefore it is incumbent upon
us who are in this free country to make this appeal known
to the American people. I think our president made it
clear to us this morning when he told us that thirty
thousand of our f ellow-countrsonen fought on the Russian
battlefront during the first period of the war in the cause
of Democracy, and that our people contributed a large
proportion of men and money to this cause. Therefore,
I believe our appeal will receive favorable consideration
from the American people.
A Delegate : Mr. President, I don't want my name
known in the newspapers, and I can tell you afterward
why I would not like my name to be recorded in the press.
PREsroENT Jaisohn : If you wish to speak we must
have your name. We cannot do that.
The Delegate : My reason for not giving my name
is because I expect to return to Korea in a short time.
However, my name is "Im."
President Jaisohn: The chair cannot recognize
anybody who does not give his name. Now that you
31
have given your name, I will state that I appreciate your
position in the matter, but I tell you this, Mr. Im, if you
lose your life for saying here what is right you lose your
life worthily.
Delegate Im : The delegate delivered a short gen-
eral address and concluded as follows:
I am heart and soul with you, my fellow-citizens.
I asked that my name be not reported, but I did it be-
cause I thought it was not necessary and I merely wanted
to say a few words in order to congratulate Dr. Rhee on
the resolution presented by his committee as an "Appeal
to America."
(There was further argument by Paihynk ICim in
Korean, whom the president called to order because it was
in a vein of needless criticism.)
Ilhan New : Mr. President, I understand as clearly
as any gentleman here that there is not a delegate in this
Congress, or that there is not a Korean in Korea, or in
the world, who would not pass such a resolution. We all
have our hearts in it and it is impossible for us to ex-
press in fitting terms what our feelings are, and I don't
think it is necessary for us to consider this resolution
any further.
President Jaisohn : We want to give everybody a
chance to speak on the subject. That is the one business
of this Congress, but we must confine ourselves to the
subject that is before us, particularly in discussing the
questions before this Congress and for the transaction of
our business. If we go off on a tangent and go over the
whole Encyclopedia of Government we won't get any-
where.
Mr. Syngman Rhee moved that this Congress adopt the reso-
lution presented on "An appeal to America."
The motion was seconded by Mr. New and unani-
mously carried.
Mr. Samuel Lee rendered a song.
President Jaisohn : The next committee to report
is the committee on "Aims and aspirations of the
Koreans."
32
a
Mr. C. H. Min, Chairman, requested Mr. Ilhan New,
a member of the committee, to read the resolution.
Mr. Ilhan New: Mr. President and members of
the Congress, the first Korean Independence League,
recognizing the American ideas in the western world, and
realizing the fact that it is necessary for the Koreans in
this country and elsewhere to crystallize their aims and
define their aspirations, we, therefore, drew up the fol-
lowing resolutions which we submit to you for your ap-
proval. I will read them at this time, with the recom-
mendation that they be adopted as read.
AIMS AND ASPIRATIONS OF THE KOREANS
(1) We believe in government which derives its
just power from the governed, therefore the government
must be conducted for the interest of the people it governs.
(2) We propose to have a government modeled
after that of America, as far as possible, consistent with
the education of the masses. For the next decade it
may be necessary to have more centralized power in the
government; but as education of the people improves
and as they have more experience in the art of self-
governing, they will be allowed to participate more uni-
versally in the governmental affairs.
(3) However, we propose to give universal fran-
chise to elect local and provincial legislators, and the
provincial legislators elect the representatives to the
National Legislature. The National Legislators will have
co-ordinate power with the Executive Branch of the gov-
ernment, and they have sole power to make laws of the
nation and is solely responsible to the people whom they
represent,
(4) The executive branch consists of President,
Vice-President and Cabinet officers, who carry out all the
laws made by the National Legislature. The President
shall be elected by the members of the National Legis-
lature, and the President has the power to appoint the
Cabinet Ministers, Governors of Provinces and other such
important executive officials of the government, includ-
ing envoys to foreign countries. He has the power to
make treaties with foreign powers, subject to the
approval of the upper house of the National Legislature.
33
The President and his cabinet are responsible to the
National Legislature.
(5) We believe in freedom of religion. Any
religion or doctrine shall be freely taught and preached
within the country, provided such teaching does not con-
flict with the laws or the interest of the nation.
(6) We believe in free commerce with all nations
of the world, affording the citizens and subjects of all
treaty powers equal opportunity and protection for pro-
moting commerce and industry between them and the
Korean people.
(7) We believe in education of the people, which
is more important than any other governmental activities.
(8) We believe in modem sanitary improvements
under scientific supervision, as the health of the people
is one of the primary considerations of those who govern.
(9) We believe in free speech and free press. . In
fact, we are in thorough accord with the prin-
ciple of democracy, equal opportunity, sound economic
policies, free intercourse with the nations of the world,
making conditions of life of the entire people most favor-
able for unlimited development.
(10) We believe in liberty of action in all matters,
provided such actions or utterances do not interfere with
the rights of other people or conflict with the laws and
interests of the nation.
Let us all pledge our solemn word to carry out these
cardinal points to the best of our ability, as long as there
is life remaining within us.
President Jaisohn: You have heard the resolu-
tion and the recommendation of the committee for adop-
tion. This is the opportunity for you to express your
views on this subject. The speeches should be of reason-
able length. First of all, in order that the subject may
be properly brought before the Congress, a motion to
adopt is in order.
Mr. C. H. Min moved that the Congress adopt the resolution
on "Aims and Aspirations of the Koreans" as presented.
The motion was seconded by several of the delegates.
President Jaisohn: This is a subject we must
discuss fully. You are taking a momentous step. This
is not a resolution of the Republic of Korea, but it is a
34
resolution of this Congress, and whatever action you
take is a matter of importance to the world, because it
is a record of this body to indicate to the world what
the Korean people aspire to. I know that a good many
of you here present at this Congress will some day play
a leading part in the reconstruction of Korea. I would
like to have you go over this resolution paragraph by
paragraph very carefully to understand what its sig-
nificance is and what effect it will have on the life of
the Korean people not only today or tomorrow, but to
generations to come. What we do here will not be an
official by-law or constitution, but it has a great deal of
significance, in my mind, if you believe in these prin-
ciples which you are enunciating and will likely be incor-
iwrated in the final text of the Korean Constitution.
Therefore, I want you gentlemen and ladies to read it
over carefully and master what it means and learn what
effect it will have on your life and on the life of your
children. When a law is enacted, especially in matters
of the constitution of a nation, you cannot change it
over night, and it requires a great deal of thought, not
for the present, but for the future also. You cannot do
anything else. One of the principles submitted in that
resolution was discussed beforehand, and any further
discussion upon it will benefit you and anybody who will
participate in the future construction of Korea. There-
fore, if you will permit me I will recommend that you
do not take a vote on this resolution today, but that you
postpone action until tomorrow. It is a matter so impor-
tant and an infiuence that will be so far reaching that I
don't want you to hastily pass this resolution. In the
meantime, I would suggest that we postpone action in
order that you may take up the several paragraphs and
discuss the questions involved. If we will do that every-
body can study it still further, and those who have not
had an opportunity to study it before can do so now, so
that there may be no misunderstanding. That is what
you are here for. You want to make up your minds what
you want to do when you go back to your country. You
35
know the old saying is, "It is easy to get a job, but it is
hard to keep it." You may get your country back, but
you must know how to keep it after you do. The only
way that you can keep it is by working out your own
salvation, and this question of "Aims and Aspirations of
the Koreans" is a vehicle with which you can keep your
country after you get it back and make it a self-governing
nation. The very life of the whole nation has to depend
on the questions embodied in this resolution. I suggest
a motion to postpone action for the present.
Mr. Lee moved that action on this resolution, "Aims and
Aspirations of the Koreans," be postponed until such time as
may be satisfactory to the Congress for action tomorrow.
Mr. Charles F. Lee: Gentlemen, it seems to me
that this resolution is very important. Personally, I
would like to read over it very carefully and considei: it
as the chair has suggested. Every member of this Con-
gress should take hold of this copy and take it home,
or take it from this room and read it very carefully.
We can get together tonight and talk over the matter
in the English language as well as in the Korean language.
The question was discussed at some length in the
Korean and English languages by Mr. Y. N. Park, Mr.
Henry Kim, Mr, C. H. Min, Mr. Henry Chung, Mr. Chang,
Mr. Ilhan New, Mr. K. S. Deyo, whereupon
Mr. Syngman Rhee offered the following amend-
ment to Mr. Lee's motion:
That the Congress declare a recess for fifteen minutes and
then adjourn until tomorrow. Immediately after adjournment
the members reconvene as an executive council for the discussion
of this matter until four-thirty (4.30), and, if necessary, to be
resumed at the night session of the executive council.
The motion was seconded and carried as amended.
The Congress adjourned until 9.30 the following
morning.
36
SECOND DAY— MORNING SESSION
President Jaisohn called the Congress to order at
9.30 A. M.
The minutes of the preceding afternoon's session
were read and, on motion, approved.
President Jaisohn: Ladies and gentlemen, this
morning we have a gentleman who represents one of the
largest church organizations of the world — ^the Catholic
Church. As you know, there are millions of the Catholic
faith in Korea. As a matter of fact, the first mission-
aries in Korea were Catholic. I am not familiar with
the late statistics of the Catholic Church in Korea, but
I do know they have a large following in our country.
I take great pleasure in introducing to you the Rev.
Father James J, Dean, president of Villanova College,
who will offer a prayer.
READING OF SCRIPTURES BY REV. FATHER
JAMES J. DEAN
Psalm 53
Save me, Lord! in Thy name and judge me in
Thy strength.
God ! hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my
mouth.
For strangers have risen up against me and the
mighty have sought after my soul, and they have not set
God before their eyes.
For behold, God is my helper, and the Lord is the
protector of my soul.
Turn away evil from me upon my enemies, and
scatter them in Thy truth,
1 will freely sacrifice to Thee, and will give praise,
O God ! to Thy name, because it is good.
For Thou hast delivered me out of my trouble, and
mine eye hath looked down upon mine enemies.
37
PRAYER BY REV. FATHER JAMES J. DEAN
Our Father, loving parent and generous provider
of all things needful; WHO Art in Heaven, that abode
of the blessed wherein shall be neither injustice nor
oppression; Hallowed Be Thy Name, that name by
which alone peace may be assured and good will pre-
vail among men; Thy Kingdom Come, the kingdom of
righteousness and equal opportunity for all; Thy Will
Be Done, the will that every individual and every nation
shall shape its course and mould its destiny to Thy honor
and glory, unhampered by foreign interference and
untrammeled by religious prejudice; ON Earth as It Is
IN Heaven, yea! even to the uttermost bounds thereof;
Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread, nourishment alike
of soul and body and that atmosphere of political security
and social peace in which alone such nourishment can
avail us for strength of body and purity of soul ; And For-
give Us Our Trespasses, wrongs against Thee and Thy
Holy Name, because of which, it may be, our oppression has
been brought about and our sorrows multiplied; As We
Forgive Those Who Trespass Against Us, forgiving
them in the same spirit which prompted Thy Divine
Son to cry out even in His death agony, "Father, for-
give them ; they know not what they do," mindful, how-
ever, of the fact that mercy does not condone injustice
nor does it require submission to wrongs intolerable;
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, the ways of our
oppressors and the devices of our enemies ; But Deliver
Us From Evil, the spirit of iniquity which compasses
us about and those evils of civic and military servitude
which have so long hampered our souls and burdened our
spirits.
Grant us, God, the light to see our duty in accord-
ance with Thy holy will and the courage to carry out our
resolutions at the cost of any sacrifice. Instill into our
hearts an all-consuming love of truth and justice; guide
Thou our deliberations and direct our judgment to the
honor and glory of Thy Holy name and for the ultimate
freedom and regeneration of an oppressed people. Amen.
ADDRESS
By Rev. Father James J. Dean, President of Villanova
College.
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen: When I
accepted the in\itation of your chairman to open this
38
second session of your Congress with prayer I had no
idea any further remarks would be expected of me.
Nevertheless it is a pleasure to be accorded an oppor-
tunity of addressing tiie representatives of a race which
for so many thousands of years has proved itself capable
of self-government and has cheerfully opened its heart
to the advances of modern civilization, for I understand
yours is the most Christian among the nations of the
East. It is with a peculiar sense of fitness, therefore,
that I as a Catholic priest and a college president stand
before you this morning to assure you of the hearty
approval of both Christianity and civilization toward the
declaration of freedom which you are about to make.
Personally, too, I feel it a duty as well as a privilege
to speak to you a word of encouragement and of counsel.
My own cosmopolitan record makes it especially fitting
that I should be called upon on an occasion of this kind.
By birth an Englishman, by choice an American, I can
heartily sjmipathize with your hopes and aspirations.
Born in old England, reared in New England, educated
in Pennsylvania, I feel that I have an established right
to raise my voice in. behalf of an oppressed people. With
an Englishman's love of individual liberty, a Yankee's
determination to enjoy that liberty to the exclusion of
all undue restraint and a Quaker's insistence upon the
right to live in i)eace and security, it would ill become
me to remain silent upon an occasion such as this.
You are assembled here today, representatives of
a people oppressed by foreign domination, to announce
to the world your right to shape your own course and
to mould your own destiny, untrammeled by outside
interference and unhampered by the dictates of a grasp-
ing militaristic power. That your position is just none
can deny, and justice must in the end emerge triumphant.
Your first duty, therefore, is to arouse in your own souls
and in the souls of your people a consciousness of the
justice of your cause. Justice in itself must ultimately
prevail, but a consciousness of justice in the hearts and
minds of those who strive and suffer will the sooner
accomplish the desired result. Rouse, then, your own
souls to a zeal that shall know no quenching and an
enthusiasm that shall carry you onward in spite of
every obstacle to your desired goal. Secondly let me
suggest that you will aid your cause in a wonderful
degree by bringing the facts in the case to the attention
of the American public and enlisting the sympathy of
39
our American leaders of thought and action. Public
opinion in this great Eepublic of the West is slow to
arouse, but mighty in action. Witness the principles
emanating from the great mind of our chosen leader,
President Wilson, correctly interpreting the collective
conscience of a people, and, by sheer force of truth and
righteousness, fastening themselves upon a none too
willing world. So shall it be with your cause when
clearly presented and more fully understood.
It is fitting, too, that you should come here to Phila-
delphia, the Cradle of Liberty and the City of Brotherly
Love, to proclaim your principles and declare your inde-
pendence. The spirit of the Continental Congress of '76
hovers about you and the joyous notes of our own Liberty
Bell, silent now, reverberate in memory and pulsate
the very air with the spirit of freedom.
Be not discouraged that your assembly is held so
far from home and kindred, nor disheartened that your
numbers are seemingly so small. From small begin-
nings great movements have always had their origin.
Nearly two thousand years ago twelve poor fishermen, des-
titute of the world's riches and unskilled in the world's
ways, came forth from a distant comer of the East and
undertook to change the whole course of civilization. Th^
possessed nothing but truth and a consciousness of truth,
yet in a few generations the world accepted their man-
dates and is still ruled by their teachings. They them-
selves paid the penalty of all zealots and reformers, yet
they did so cheerfully and willingly, conscious of the
fact that principle would eventually triumph over per-
secution and death. Some hundred and forty years
ago Patrick Henry, standing in the front pew of a
church in a remote Virginia village, bade defiance to
tyranny and oppression. Who shall say that his words
did not have a distinct bearing on the genesis of these
United States.
So you stand here today, far from your native shores,
appealing to the conscience of the world. Who is there
among you who dares to doubt that this is but the begin-
ning of victory? Steel your hearts to the conflict; arm
yourselves with the shield of truth and justice; raise
high your standard of freedom and be prepared to make
any sacrifice, the supreme sacrifice if need be, to per-
petuate for your people and the glorious land wherein
they dwell the highest form of human liberty— "Govern-
ment of the people, for the people and by the people."
40
c/5
CA)
CJ
May God in his goodness and mercy guide and direct
your course to success.
Pbesident Jaisohn: I have heard many wonder-
ful speeches, but I must admit that this is one of the
best I have ever heard. This gentleman comes here and
he talks to us from his heart, and that is what we like
about it. It is not a set diplomatic document, but it is
a message from a good, true. Christian man to his
fellow-men. He does not make any difference what they
are, where they came from, what race they belong to,
he has delivered to you a message from one Christian
man to another. I want you to remember the speech
and the ideals and precepts which he has presented to us.
If you will carry it with you through all your lives you will
make better men, better citizens and better patriots. I
thank you very much, Dr. Dean.
Chairman Jaisohn : If the American public should
feel that they have no right to interfere with the Korean
question, as it is an internal affair of Japan, then they
have no right to say anything about what Germany did in
Belgium.
Ladies and gentlemen, as we have told you before,
Korea is marching on to independence. Korea is pro-
gressing. In this connection I want to tell you that we
have a Korean gentleman here with us today who came
to this country some years ago and who is musically
inclined. He plays the violin, and we will now be favored
with a violin solo by Mr. K. S. Deyo.
VIOLIN SOLO BY K. S. DEYO
President Jaisohn : A number of telegrams have
been received this morning. I will read one that we have
received from Honolulu:
"All over the islands the Koreans are celebrating their inde-
pendence today. The day has been declared a holiday through-
out the islands. In Honolulu twelve hundred took part in a
great street parade. Every one carried an American and Korean
flag. All meeting places have been decorated with the flags of
all nations, excepting that of Japan. The royal Hawaiian band,
sent by the Mayor of Honolulu, furnished the music. The parade
was followed by the reading of the Declaration of Independence
of Korea in both the English and Korean languages. Addresses
41
were made by Korean citizens from this and other islands,
and American friends, amid great cheers and applause, delivered
addresses. An address was delivered by Dr. S. A. Park. At
a meeting it was unanimously proposed to send this dispatch to
the Congress held in Philadelphia to inform you that six thousand
Koreans here have renounced Japanese rule and have resolved
that the struggle for independence will be carried on to the end.
A request should be made to the State Department at Wash-
ington that a passport be granted to our delegates to ihe Paris
Conference to assist the Korean envoy, who is already in Paris.
You have our sympathy and our support and everything that is
irossible for us to give you."
I consider that a very good message. There are
other telegrams of like nature from organizations and
individuals which will be read at another session of the
Congress and embodied in the record. As some of these
telegrams require immediate acknowledgment, I sug-
gest that the Congress authorize the chair to appoint a
committee of gentlemen to attend to whatever corre-
spondence is necessary, to reply to all telegrams demand-
ing a reply and thanking them for their sjnnpathy and
good wishes.
On motion of Mr. A. K. Yim the chair was authorized
to appoint a committee of three to prepare replies to
telegrams and other communications.
President Jaisohn appointed the three secretaries,
already appointed to assist three delegates to the Con-
gress, to prepare and send replies to the telegrams and
other communications received.
President Jaisohn : The next business in order is
to continue with the discussion on "Aims and Aspirations
of the Koreans," which was postponed until this morning.
Ilhan New : With a view of sending out this reso-
lution in more definite form and having delegates digest
it, this resolution was postponed, and we have been able
to consider the articles carefully. In the first place, I
say that these articles as set forth in these resolutions
are not supposed to be the complete "Aims and Aspira-
tions of the Koreans," nor are they intended to exhaust
the subject. When we proceeded to draft these resolu-
tions we found that it was an immense task which we
were unable or incapable of coming up to. In order to
42
arrive at something tangible we first drew up these
cardinal principles for which we stand. We hoped that
when we Koreans from all over the world were permitted
to gather together in a great Congress in our own coun-
try to establish a stable government we would like to
J^ave all the eminent scholars there to form a consti-
tution which will be second to none, but at this time it
is a physical impossibility to get able men to come
together. With the means we have at this time we are
not able to set out in complete form our "Aims and
Aspirations." As it were, this is about tiie best we can do.
President Jaisohn : These are just a few cardinal
points that this Congress is asked to adopt. It is not a
constitution; it is not the law of the nation, but it only
contains a few of those important principles to which
this Congress commits itself. That is the way I under-
stand it. As to the minor details, as well as the other
major parts which will become the constitution and the
law of Korea, these will come when the constitution will
be dravsTi up by special committee for that purpose by the
constituted authorities of the Korean Republic. These
resolutions simply are the expressions of this Korean
Congress held in Philadelphia at this time. It does not
bind anybody else except those who attend this Congress
and who accept the action of this Congress.
Mr. Min: Since we have had a full discussion at
our executive meeting and at this Congress in the Korean
and English languages on the "Aims and Aspirations of
the Koreans" and we think we all understand it. I sug-
gest that we now take a vote on the adoption of the reso-
lution.
Dr. Rhee : We discussed it last night at our execu-
tive meeting and the expression was unanimous on the
main principles, such as "we believe in a government
which derives its just power from the governed." And
then the next point met with unanimous approval, and
all the way through, with several minor details that may
be improved upon, all of us have agreed on these general
cardinal points.
43
Mr. Chang: I would like to call attention to the
fact of the office of Vice-President. I understand that
the French Government does not have a Vice-President,
and I do not see any necessity for having a Vice-Presi-
dent. When the body elects the President I should recom-
mend the same course as is followed in other legislative
bodies.
PREsroENT Jaisohn : If you want to cut out the Vice-
President I don't think anybody Avill object; it is simply
a matter whether or not you want to add the Vice-Presi-
dent in your resolution. That is a detail that will be
fixed up when the constitution is finally adopted and
does not involve our cardinal principles.
Dr. Syngman Rhee moved that this Congress adopt the reso-
lution on "Aims and Aspirations of the Koreans" as read.
The motion was seconded and carried.
President Jaisohn: The next business in order
is the report from the committee appointed to draft "A
Message to the Thinking People of Japan." Is that com-
mittee ready to report?
Mr. p. K. Yoon, chairman of the Committee on "A
Message to the Thinking People of Japan." Mr. Chair-
man and ladies and gentlemen, I will read the message
to you at this time.
TO THE THINKING PEOPLE OF JAPAN
It may be useless to give friendly advice or to discuss the
new principle of international morality with your militaristic
statesmen or those who believe in autocratic government; but
we know there are some Japanese who have been converted to
true Western democratic ideals, and for those among you this
message is intended.
Your country was the first nation in our part of the world
which adopted Western methods in many lines of national endeavor,
especially in military, naval and economic policies. Your nation
has become strong and prosperous under these reform movements
and is now the leading nation in Eastern Asia. Your improve-
ment in military establishments was necessary for self-defense,
but later your government adopted the Prussian methods and used
this force, instead of self-defense, for the purpose of aggrandize-
ment and selfish greed. This was particularly the case with your
government policy toward Korea after the Russo-Japanese war.
When you declared the war against Russia in 1904 we believed
then that you were acting for the safety of your country and
44
the peace of the Orient. Many of our people sympathized with
you and assisted you in many ways in that war. Our country
was open to your military forces, and you used it as a base
of operation against imperialistic Russia.
At the beginning of this war you assured our government
that you would not violate our territorial integrity or political
independence. Our country and yours went into this conflict
as allies and partners in the enterprise. When the war was
over your government, at the point of the sword, established a
protectorate over Korea, declaring that our independence would
be restored to ns when our people became firmly established as
a self-governing nation. This was a blow to ns all, and we
felt the injustice of your action; but, still worse, later on by force
and despicable trickery your government snatched away not only
our sovereignty, but annexed the entire country as a conquered
territory. There is no other name for such an action except to
call it highway robbery.
Let us briefly go over what your high-handed statesmen have
done in Korea since the annexation. Did any of your rulers ever
try to win the hearts of the_ Korean people by uplifting them
to a higher level of civilization through liberal education and
economic advancement? No. On the contrary, your government
has done everything in its power to reduce our people to a level
of slavery. Yon limited their educational opportunities, placed
every means of hindrance in their way to economic improve-
ment. Your whole policy has been that of oppression and repression
for the temporary benefit of your own nationals. Your rulers think
that you can destroy the spirit, the life, the body and the soul
of our people by these barbarous policies, but they are mistaken.
The Korean people may appear to you an easy victim to your
greedy eye, but let us inform you now, once for all, there are
millions of young Koreans today both in and out of Korea who
are just as capable, intelligent and courageous as any race of
man in this world. This assertion is not made in the spirit of
bravado, but is founded upon systematic investigation and thor-
ough test. Whenever opportunities have been given they demon-
strated their true qualities to the surprise and admiration of
their enemies as well as friends. What little opportunity they
have had was in foreign countries, but if the same freedom were
allowed them in their native soil they would certainly show some
wonderful results in all lines of human activity. Your govern-
ment has denied them this opportunity for development. Is it
right? It is fair? Is it humane?
Before the world war Germany and Russia and some other
powers in Europe cherished the fallacious thought that might
makes right and the strong should live at the expense of the
weak. But they are now reduced to impotent political units, and
all their gfreedy dreams have been shattered to pieces beyond all
repair.
Your government has been and still is entertaining the same
erroneous idea and the same greedy ambition as those cherished
by the European autocracies now destroyed and gone. If your
people are intelligent and wise, as we think they are, you should
make effort to change this policjr and at once adopt the higher,
the nobler and the happier principle of true democracy for your
government. If you continue to carry on your present selfish
policy of the Prussian type your country will meet the same fate
that your prototype in Europe has encountered.
45
First you must right the wrong you have done to Korea.
Give her absolute freedom, keep your hands from the politics of
the peninsula. You will find that Korea will develop into a peace-
ful, democratic and industrial nation, which will be absolutely
neutral in her foreign policies, will be a buffer between your
country, China and Russia. The interest of your country requires
a friendly buffer state in this region instead of a territory
inhabited by sullen, resentful people in whose hearts hatred for
you and your government will always exist as long as you
try to govern them by force, cruelty and injustice. The time
may come in the very near future when you will need the good
will of the Korean people. Even now it is within your power
to atone for your past sins against Korea and make her your
ally and good friend. The same just and generous policy should
be adopted toward China. By so doing your people will not
sacrifice your economic interest in the Orient, and at the same
time you will be living among friendly neighbors. As it is,
you have no friends. Korea hates you, China dislikes you just
as much as does Korea. Russia has no friendly sentiment for
you; even America is watching you with suspicion and distrust.
Your alliance with England will not avail you much in case you
should be involved in a conflict witii any first-class power, espe-
cially with America.
Therefore, for your future safety and for your prestige as the
leading nation of the Orient you should embrace at once the
new principle of international justice and true democratic spirit
that righteous government should derive its just power from the
governed. This is the only way your country will continue to
e strong and prosperous and maintain the prestige that you
now enjoy. Above all, there will be permanent peace in the
Orient, so that all Oriental peoples will live and develop to their
highest capacity. If temporary gains and petty advantages blind
your statesmen to these eternal truths set forth above, all we can
say is Gold help the Japanese people.
MEMBERS OF KOREAN CONGRESS.
April 14-16, 1919, Philadelphia, Pa., U. S. A.
Prestoent Jaisohn: The subject is before you for
discussion.
Mr. p. K. Yoon: Mr. President, ladies and gentle-
men, I would like to have a few minutes of your time to
speak on this "Message to the Thinking People of Japan."
[, as well as all of you, am very much interested and also
intensely active in the movement in which our brethren
ire engaged here and Ln the land of our birth for the
idmission of Korea to the free republics of the world, on
vhich we are of one common mind and one in action. On
iccount of my desire to help our cause I went to San
Francisco on the 13th of March and assisted the Execu-
ive Council as much as possible in various ways in trans-
icting business and in other connections. They were
46
kind enough to select me as one of the delegates to the
Peace Conference to Paris, but I could not decide at
that time. However, I finally consented to assume that
responsibility, and after about three or four weeks time
I left San Francisco and came back to Washington, and
while there I wound up all the business and made all
possible arrangements to be here at this time. It is a
great pleasure to see you and to be here listening to
the addresses and to what action is taken by this Con-
gress. In regard to the sentiment on the coast, I came
in contact with public men on my way from San Fran-
cisco to Portland and I talked with the best editors in
Oregon. I had a discussion on the subject of our move-
ment with the editors of some of the leading papers of
the coast, among them Mr. Edgar Piper, of Portland,
who said he would be very glad to put the matter of
the Korean independence movement before the readers
of his paper and would print whatever would be a
properly authorized document that would come to him.
Then I came to Spokane and talked to the editors of
the papers there, and they also expressed the same views.
On my way home to Washington I stopped oflf in St,
Paul and I talked with the editor of the Minneapolis
Tribune and the St. Paul Dispatch. All these representa-
tives of the western papers expressed their sym-
pathy for our cause. You have been very kind to elect
me as chairman of this committee on "Message to the
Thinking People of Japan." Now I submit it to you
for your discussion and on behalf of the committee
recommend its adoption.
President Jaisohn: You have heard the reading
of this "Message to the Japanese People." As the chair
takes it, the intention is to send this message to those
who are really "the thinking people of Japan." It is
not intended for the military people nor the people who
are in favor of an autocratic government. There are
some Japanese people who are desirous of establishing a
democracy of their own. Even in Germany there was a
small minority who were opposed to Kaiserism and Prus-
47
sianism, but they were just as much victims to those evils
as the rest of the people in Germany. But this minority
could not do much. One of the things the Koreans should
do is to send Korean missionaries to other Oriental coun-
tries, for the influence of such missions will be very great.
You have a great deal of opportunity to do some real good
in that part of the world. There is China, with a popu-
lation of some four hundred million people, who needs
wise counsels and help and the assistance of her neigh-
bors. To my surprise and gratification I heard through
American missionaries that the Korean Christians raised
during the last year over $3000 in American money to
send to China six or seven Korean missionaries to preach
Christianity among the Chinese.
The Koreans are a simple people, but they have
certain mental characteristics which seems to take them
in the direction of religion. They seem to have a religious
capacity more readily developed and more sincerely prac-
ticed than by any other oriental race. The reason for
that has to be explained by some men who are eminent in
psychology, for I cannot. The fact that they have raised
$3000 to send the Korean missionaries into China dem-
onstrates their sincerity. Of course, in America when
we are talking about four or five billions, $3000 is a
very small figure, but when you consider the earning
capacity of the Korean people it is a big sum. I hope
they will keep it up. I hope the Koreans will be advanced
in their materialistic welfare that they may be able to
take up the missionary work in the Orient to a larger
extent. We believe that what we want to do is to start
in on missionary work in the Orient for the principles
of Christianity and democracy. Japan knows very little
about democracy. It will be a Christian-like act on
your part to afford to every Japanese you can get
hold of the privilege of becoming a believer in democ-
racy. They are crael; they are inhuman; they are bar-
barious to you, but even though they are all this you
can act like a generous Christian man even towards
your enemies. However, when he advances unfairly
48
upon you, you will fight like the devil. I am sure
that. Roosevelt used to say, "Hit the line hard," but
always consider that a true man, a Christian man, must
not be barbarous or cruel or vindictive. If you send
this message to the people of Japan it will be laughed
at by a large majority of the Japanese. They will scorn
and scoff at you. All right. When Christ preached the
Gospel at different places they scoffed at Him. Just
the same, that didn't stop Him from preaching. You
have two great missions to perform and you are adapted
for it. You are just the people. The first mission is
to Christianize the Orient, and the second is to
democratize the Orient. With the first, let us begin
with our worst enemy, Japan. Send him this message.
Let the people have this message and let them think
over it. Ladies and gentlemen, I think this is a subject
that should be thoroughly discussed.
De. Syngman Rhee: There are some of us who
object to having anything to do with the Japanese. Some-
body may misunderstand our motives in sending this
message to the Japanese people. I want to make it very
clear to everybody here and to the Japanese themselves
that we are not desiring to do anything except to show
them that we are Christians. We realize that they will
butcher our countrjrmen and it is natural for us to feel
that we don't want to have anything to do with them.
But we want them to realize that if they don't think any
more than they seem to do at the present time it is
not our fault. They are the ones who must take the con-
sequences. We want to show them, as President Wilson
expressed the thought in the beginning of the war
between this country and Germany, when he said, "The
United States is not fighting against the German people,
but against the German government." And we want
to show the Japanese people that if they act in the spirit
of Christianity and democracy we vdll treat them as
fellowmen; but if they keep up this method of Prus-
sianism and barbarism and cruelty we will show them
that they iare the ones who are making mistakes, and,
49
as our President has said, we will and we must "fight
like the devil." However, in this resolution we are show-
ing the spirit of Christians, and we show them what
our stand is and we ask them to consider our position,
and in accordance with this sentiment I second the
motion to adopt this resolution as presented and read
by the chairman of the committee.
Mr. Charles L. Lee: Mr. President, I think the
message which has been prepared and presented by the
Committee and which we have heard read is a very proper
one to be sent to the "Thinking People of Japan." If you
will remember, when the United States entered into the
European War, President Wilson sent a message to the
German people. The intention of sending a message to
them was to let the German people know why America
went into the war, and what America was fighting for.
Therefore, I think that this message which we propose
to send to the Japanese people is not only to show our
intention of what we are fighting for, but to let the people
of Japan know that Korean independence will not be
abandoned or forgotten until the last Korean is killed. Mr.
Chairman, it is an easy thing to talk about, but it is also
a diflScult thing to act. I often wonder, since I have been
in this Congress, whether we have positively made up our
minds from the depths of our hearts to give our lives to
the cause. We are not here, ladies and gentlemen, fight-
ing for dollars and cents; we are praying for life and
death. Now is an opportune and a very proper time, as
Dr. Rhee has suggested, to adopt this message unani-
mously and send it to the Japanese people immediately and
let every Japanese man and woman everywhere know our
aims and our purposes, that when the victory is won, and
we are established at Seoul, as an independent republic,
we may all sing for the joy and the glory of Korea, Halle-
lujah, and I second the motion that the resolution be
adopted.
Miss Nodie Dora Kim : Mr. President, on behalf of
the ladies here, I wish to make it clear, the way we under-
stand it, that we are sending this message out to the
50
Japanese people. '. It does not mpan . that' -vve wish to s
we are people better thain'; tHey /aiSe; but that we know
what humanity is, antl'thkl we are not 'in sympathy with
their being barbkriuV and butchering oujjiftpo'cent people,
cutting off the arnig^ -of- women and chiliiteij'and fighting
unfairly. We wanf io qltox^.tbeni thgt-e^p'ry Korean will
be perfectly willing t'o-'ae't'Hs Christians* toward the Jap-
anese people, whatever thefy'db^ward our people. The
Koreans want to follow the ideals of the United States
and the message of President Wilson lies deep down in
our hearts, and we don't wish to treat the Japanese as
enemies, but we don't want them to take away from us
our rights and privileges, and we are ready to stand up,
the women and the men, and defend ourselves. We want
to play our part.
President Jaisohn : I will suggest to the members
of this Committee that copies of this resolution be for-
warded to the people of Japan, and the best channel will
be through the Japanese newspapers and that all the
publicity possible be given to it.
At this time I will ask Mrs. E. L. Cook, the lady who
accompanied Mr. Deyo when he played the violin solo a
little while ago, to tell us what she thinks of Korea. She
was in the Severance Hospital in Korea, with her hus-
band. Dr. Cook, but owing to his ill health they were
compelled to return to this country. It is needless for
us to ask you where your sympathies are, but I would
like you to tell us from your own lips.
Mrs. E. L. Cook : My husband and I left Seoul just
one year ago, coming back to this country last March.
We lived rather more among the Koreans in Seoul than
foreigners usually do, as we were connected with the
American Hospital there. I regret, and I know that Dr.
Cook himself regrets that he is not able to be here with
you today. I am sure that he would give you a message of
encouragement. Christianity has the fragrance of all
sorts of good things, and is about the only religion that
holds out and is really worth while, but as soon as the
individual takes up Christianity he finds that he is met on
51
all sides by obstacles that seem almost, insurmountable.
So it is with thits. relations of individuals with the Chris-
tian faith,. You have taken up with Christianity, but one
of the priHcipltfs Christianity embrace? is democracy, and
I am afraid thiifyou will be met.jrtst" Kke the individual
is met in Chrisilaaity, with, al), sorts' of obstacles before
you accomplish yoijj' aiins, but ili^tis no reason why you
should give up yotir cajise, and if you will arouse your
soul you will have sympathy and you will have help and
America \dll come to your rescue and you will be able to
win your cause.
President Jaisohn: The hour of twelve having
arrived, I will now declare a recess until 1.30 P. M.
52
SECOND DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION
President Jaisohn called the Congress to order at
1.30 P. M.
The minutes of the morning session were read and,
on motion, approved.
President Jaisohn: I will read a telegram,
received today, that may be of considerable interest to
you. It is a cablegram from Shang-hai, China.
"Hearty congratulations and good wishes to the Korean Cchi-
gress now held in Philadelphia, from Korean Municipality of
Shang-haL
(Signed) Hun Min Sinn.
President Jaisohn : We have a gentleman with us
today who has returned from Korea, Mr. Denmiing. He
was sent out from this land to help you, and has returned
to us. I am sure he is glad to see you and you will be
glad to see him and hear from him. I, therefore, take
p-eat pleasure in introducing to you Mr. DenMning.
Mr. Demming : Mr. President and ladies and gentle-
men, I am very glad to be here today. I am sorry that
[ came so late that I have not been able to enjoy all the
iiscussions that have come up before you. When I left
Korea on March 1st of this year, there was a great deal
jf tension in Korea, and I knew that something was in
the air, but I did not know what it was, and very few
Missionaries knew, although they knew that something
fvas going to happen. As I was leaving on the train one
)f my members told me something was going to happen
it two o'clock on that day. All the time tiiat I was on the
;rain, I saw people traveling, and I heard that a move-
nent was on foot for the independence of Korea. When
[ arrived in one of the towns I saw by the papers that
lenionstrations had been made in Seoul and the Japanese
vere very much surprised at the prominence of them.
Vhile they knew that a demonstration was likely to take
)lace, they thought it would be on the day of the funeral
»f the old Emperor. Those who were managing these
lemonstrations got well ahead of them, and the Japanese
iid not think it necessary to bring any great number of
;roops up. That day all the stations along the route were
srowded with Koreans for trains. When they saw the
arge number of people on the trains, for every car was
jacked and the stations were filled with people, the Jap-
mese authorities thought they were getting together to
ittend the funeral of the Emperor, which was to take
jlace the next day. A great many people could not get
m the trains and had to be left in the stations; there
jvere so many of them, and that is the way it went, and
;here was something doing all day and all night. The
Fapanese did not seem to be prepared for it. I have been
rery anxious to find out the facts of what has been taking
)lace in Korea ; this is one reason why I came over here
;his morning. I first heard at Honolulu that they had a
•evolution in Korea. They told me that Dr. Rhee was
lere in America, and that there was to be a congress held
n Philadelphia in April. I heard at Los Angeles that
he Congress was to be held in old Independence Hall on
he fifteenth of April, and as soon as I arrived here I
nade an effort to attend the meeting ; but I have been so
)usy that I did not have time to look it up until today,
md so learned that you were meeting here and was very
inxious to come and be present at your Congress.
You all know that the missionaries in Korea are in
freat sympathy with this effort for the independence of
he Koreans. I myself, if I were a Korean, would do as
fou are doing, and I would seek to do all in my power to
:et that which is your due, as you should be a free people.
President Jaisohn: I am glad to hear from a
•epresentative of the missionaries in Korea, who tells you
lirectly where they stand on the proposition. Well, if he
roes back to Korea, after making such a statement, the
Tapanese gendarmes might disturb him, but he has the
ourage to say anything that he thinks is right.
It has been suggested by some members that we
hould take action in this Congress toward requesting the
Jnited States Government to recognize the Provisional
Jovernment of the Republic of Korea. A representative
f that government is fortunately with us; I refer to Dr.
5yngman Rhee. He has, I understand, been elected Sec^
etary of State for the Provisional Government. Your
aovement is still in its infancy and a good many Ameri-
54
can people do not take your movement seriously. The
is a good reason for that, which is brought about through
Japanese influence and clever diplomacy. There appears
to be a great deal of work done for Japan by publicity
agents. They have so far educated the American people
into thinking that Koreans are on a par with the Ameri-
can Indians; that they are weak and spineless; they
have no common sense and cannot help themselves ; that
they need nurses and guardians — ^in other words, they
need to be wards of some strong nation rather than a
self-governing people; that not knowing the Koreans,
Americans naturally believe it. It will be a long process
of labor and struggle for you to eradicate that impression
that is already existing in the minds of the average
American. The Japanese have very clever press agencies
here in this country. They have men who are highly
educated and good scholars, who go around with the
assistance of their government and their press bureau,
which is one of the most admirable, unless we except the
German press bureau previous to the war, which was then
a little more perfect, spreading this propaganda. You
don't have the backing of an organized government; you
have no means ; you are all hard-working men ; many of
you work your way through the colleges by labor. You
have no means to carry on well-organized and extensive
press bureau work to counteract what the Japanese have
done in the years past. But for you your work is easier
than the Japanese because you have a righteous cause ; it
is much easier to tell the truth than it is to tell lies. There
is another phase that makes your work very much easier.
The principles and ideals you advocate so ardently are the
same as those of the American people, and the moment
they hear you and see how you act, their hearts will open
to you in spite of all this ingenious political work and all
these intrigues such as the Germans and the Japanese try
to propagate in this country. You have that much advan-
tage over the Japanese; you have a righteous cause, and
a public that is ready to receive your proposition with
sjrmpathy. You have to keep up this work. If you stop
55
iter this Congress is over and go to the different parts
'the country where you came from and then forget all
)out it, or if you work individually without any con-
irted plan, without any systematized method of doing
le work, your labor will be wasted. Therefore, while
)u are here, before you dispose of this matter, I would
ce to have some gentleman make a motion to appoint a
mmittee to consider the proposition of organizing a
orean Independence League or some other organization
America, whose principal function will be to bring the
cts of the Korean cause before the American public
uthf ully, faithfully and persistently. Some such organ-
ation is badly needed. If you try to do it alone, the work
so much more difficult, and the result vnll be very
aall, but if a body of men and women join together and
ap out a plan by which you can carry on this work
stematically and intelligently and persistently, you will
complish a great deal, and your labor will be much
sier for all of you.
I understand that a delegate desires to speak on
e proposition of preparing and sending a petition to
e United States Government for recognition of the
'ovisional (Government of the Korean Republic. I can-
it bring that before the Congress until some motion to
at effect is made. If anybody wishes to make a motion
that effect I will be ready to entertain it.
Mr. Pyng Oak Cho moved.
That the Chair appoint a committee of three from this Con-
ess to draw up a petition to the United States Government, ask-
r for recognition of the Provisional Government of the Kepublic
Korea.
Me. p. K. Yoon offered the following amendment:
That the petition be sent to the Peace Conference at Paris, as
ill as to the United States Government at Washington, and that
J committee be authorized and empowered to draw up and send
i same.
The motion and the amendment to the motion were
conded and unanimously carried.
Me. Henry Chung moved.
That a committee of three be appointed by the Chair, including
' President of the Congress, Dr. Philip Jaisohn, as ex-officio. to
aw up a petition and send the same to Washington and to Paris.
56
L/.
The motion was seconded and carried.
The chair appointed on that committee Mr. Henry
hung, Mr. P. K. Yoon and Mr. C. H. Min; Dr. Philip
laisohn, ex-officio.
President Jaisohn: In order to perpetuate the
spirit of this Congress we must do this kind of work
all the year round. We must organize in some shape or
form for teamwork. I am going to tell you that we
must work as a body if you want to accomplish any big
results. If you don't have the spirit of teamwork and
co-operation you cannot accomplish very much in this
world. One of the old tactics which used to be prac-
ticed by the different nations to attain their ends was to
make a division of the opposing party, creating internal
strife. That is an old, old game and has been practiced
for centuries, and it is being practiced today to break up
the organization of your opponents. The reason is this :
By breaking up the unity and the organization of your
enemy he is weakened and you can handle him much
easier because he is in this condition. The whole trouble
in Korean history is that they do not attach enough impor-
tance to the spirit of teamwork and organization work.
The government of a nation, or the government of a state,
a government of any kind down to a small business house,
requires organization and teamwork. If you want to
carry on your work and obtain the desired result to any
large degree you must have organization. It is unfor-
tunate that Chinese history, Korean history or the
classics do not teach the necessity of teamwork.
De. Rhee: It is not so now.
President Jaisohn: What is the result? The
nation commits suicide. I say frankly to you that this
is one of the weaknesses of our people. It has been the
weakness of the Chinese, and I think it is the one weak-
ness that all the people in the Orient have except the
Japanese, and they have teamwork. It is the weak-
ness of China; it is the weakness of the whole of India;
it is the weakness of Korea and of Russia today. Russia
<7
s today in its deplorable condition through the lack of
mity and organization. That is well demonstrated in
me recent event that transpired on the western front.
Sngland, France, Italy all had a big army. They had
nore munitions than the Germans had ; their men were
ust as brave, if not braver, than the Germans; their
generals were equally as capable as the German gen-
jrals, but they could not stop the Germans' onrush. The
•eason was this: The German campaign was planned
)y their headquarters that applied to the different parts
md sectors of the front, and each front or sector carried
i plan made behind the lines in the headquarters. It
«ras unity of action; it was co-ordination of effort; every
sector co-operated. Whereas the French army and the
English army and the Italian army fought on their own
initiative. There was the weakness during the first
(rears of the war on the part of the Allies. The com-
bined strength of the Allies was greater than that of
the Germans, but the Germans had an absolutely perfect
jrganization and carried out their .campaign along cer-
bain lines of co-operation, whereas the Allies' efforts
were divided under three different heads. When the
Americans went into the world war the combined Allies
elected General Foch as commander-in-chief, and the
whole campaign was carried out from one headquarters.
When America went into the war American brains car-
ried out the method that the American business house
carries on now. Gentlemen, you must have unity, or-
ganization; you have got to have teamwork. You must
have unity of purpose and organization; it is necessary,
and that is something that is taught to Americans from
their boyhood.
You go out with boys to play baseball in the
vacant lots and your captain or your manager says:
"Johnnie, you go and do your best on first base," and
the captain will tell the next man, you do your best in
your place, and so on each one is given his position and
what he is to do at first base and second base, and the
whole team is organized and they work together. That
58
is the game, and they play it according to rule and wi
teamwork. (Dr. Jaisohn described a baseball game and
drew from it a lesson in the principle of teamwork.)
That spirit has got to be instilled in boyhood. When
the boys become business men, when they become lawyers
and statesmen, the first thing they do is to organize.
If a man is in a big company or has an office he organ-
izes that office, and organization is absolutely necessary
to perform the various functions of that company, and
today that is the main principle of every organization
and the basis on which every organization is formed.
If it is a business organization you must organize it
along those lines; if it is a philanthropic organization
you want to take certain men who must do certain
things, and they must work together in order to do the
greatest good. If you go into a church or any organiza-
tion, whatever it may be, success in that organization
is impossible unless it is done along lines of co-opera-
tion. You have come from all parts of the United States.
You are more or less excited and more or less enthusi-
astic, and I don't blame you, because I am myself; but
we have to sit down and look at the facts right in the
face. If you don't do something before you go away
from this place in order to continue the work which
ygu have been doing here, you are going away with
certain impressions and somebody else will carry another
impression, and you will all take away your own indi-
vidual impressions. I don't exi)ect to keep you all here.
You will have to go back where you have come from,
and it will be your daily business to "carry on" and to
consider the work that will be mapped out by the head of
this organization whoever that may be, and that requires
teamwork. Under the protection of the Stars and
Stripes you can talk as you like; your life and prop-
erty are safe, and the least you can do is to organize,
map out the work and through that the American public
and the world at large will know something about Korea.
A gentleman came to me the other day and said, "Call
on me when you want me to do something in any capacity
and I will serve you in your cause." That is the Amer-
59
can spirit. We want to get more friends in America.
Ve have a large number enlisted, but we want to have
lore.
Me. p. K. Yoon: We will get together sometime
omorrow and organize. After all, we want special
rganization; the Korean Independence Union or the
[orean National Association ; we will co-operate together
ogether and work out as one body even though methods
lay be different. We can talk it over in an informal
^ay and then adopt some method that will be satisfactory
3 all. I therefore move.
That we postpone this subject with the understanding that
e take it up tomorrow forenoon.
After some further discussion by Mr. New, Mr. P.
I. Cho, Mr. Henry Chang, Mr. Kim, Mr. Y. P. Chung
nd Mr. Henry Chung, Mr. Kim seconded the motion.
The motion was carried.
PRESroENT Jaisohn: If there is no objection, the
ongress will adjourn until tomorrow morning at 9:30
.. M.
60
THIRD DAY— MORNING SESSION
President Jaisohn called the Congress to order at
9:30 A, M.
The minutes of yesterday afternoon's session were
read and, on motion, approved.
President Jaisohn: We have with us this morn-
ing a gentleman who represents the church which is the
oldest church that we know. It is singular to say that
the great religion of this world sprang from the Asiatic
Continent, where there were a race of men known as
the Hebrews — ^the Jews. They had many misfortunes
politically because of the fact that they were few in
number and paid more attention to the progress of
civilization and religion than to fighting other people
Through oppression, through the old idea that the strong
must sacrifice the weak and the weak be sacrificed by
the strong, the Jewish nation was scattered throughout
the world, but they gave the world a religion that the
majority of the people of all the civilized countries con-
sider their own religion. As a matter of fact, the very
thought, the idea, the principle of Christianity came from
the Jews. The Jews gave the world the Old Testament;
the New Testament was written up by the Jews. Take
Christ and his Twelve Disciples, they were all Jews.
They went out as missionaries preaching this new
doctrine, which converted practically the world, yet the
original race of the Jews, although they are scattered to all
comers of the earth, persistently kept their identity, not
having lost their religion, and today they are preaching
their old religion just as rigorously and as faithfully as in
the days of Abraham and the Old Testament. In this
country there is a large percentage of people who are
of this faith. We have with us this morning a gentle-
man who is the rabbi of one of the largest synagogues
of Philadelphia. He is not only an eminent man in
61
religious circles, but he is prominent in oar community
as a citizen and as a man who stands for what is right
and what is just. Therefore it was appropriate, as I
understand your mission is to convey every religion to
Korea, to invite Dr. Henry Berkowitz to come here this
morning to offer a prayer and to favor us with an address
and tell us what the Jewish Church stands for on the
questions and principles that you are struggling for
today.
PRAYER
By Rabbi Henry BERKO\\aTZ: Let us address our
thoughts and our hearts under the source of all and draw
near in worship to Almighty God for all mankind, who
is the arbiter of the destinies of individuals and of
nations. As this Congress has been to uplift our hearts
in prayer that has been spoken from the Kps of divines,
so in the prayer now, the ancient moth-er of religion
would voice the ardent aspirations of those who are
assembled here through the words of the great Hebrew
prophets. Why should we deal treacherously, one man
against his brother? Profoundly impressed with this
sublime truth, we draw near. Almighty God, unto Thy
throne of grace with the ardent prayer wdling from our
hearts to its full realization out of the righteousness of
a just indignation to protest against them and against
the offenses that are committed; against all bigotries
and hatreds that are maintained, and wDl ask that as
the clouds are dispersed by the warmth of the sun, so
may these clouds that deal with the judgment and the
conscience of men be speedily dispelled by the warmth
and the light of true faith in Thee as the true Father
of all who look to Thee as Thy children for help and for
guidance. Let Thy light shine with renewed inspira-
tion into the hearts of these men, representatives of
the nations who are gathered across the seas. Give them
clarity of judgment, sincerity of purpose; give them
the courage of conviction that thereby at last peace shall
come to a war-ridden world and that the great promise
of the Prophet find its fulfillment in the reign of justice
and brotherhood and freedom in all the lands, in all
creeds for all races of men. Amen.
President Jaisohn : We have a gentleman here who
besides being a patriot is a singer, and we will now be
favored with a song by Mr. Samuel G. Lee,
62
SONG BY MR. SAMUEL G. LEE
PREsroENT Jaisohn: Dr. Berkowitz will now
address you, and I want you to listen very carefully to
what he is going to say, because he is a scholar and a
citizen of the highest standing in this community. His
words will be of great interest to you.
ADDRESS
By Rabbi Henry Berkowitz : My friends, when I
was called on the telephone by one of your number and
was asked to share with you in this Congress this morn-
ing I hesitated and demurred until the person who asked
me replied with an answer informing me of the object
of this gathering. I told him that I did not feel justi-
fied in appearing on a public platform to indorse or
advocate a movement concerning which I knew very
little, and that only from hearsay and from desultory read-
ing and concerning which I was not an authority. The an-
swer I received was a fitting rebuke, and that was this :
"We know that you are in favor of justice; we know that
you are opposed to cruelty and anything that is unfair.
Those things you know all about, and that is the pur-
pose of the Korean Congress." I felt the significance
of this reply so strongly that I immediately promised
to come here this morning. I am here simply to say
to you that there is a very strong bond of sympathy
between the Jew and all those who now or who have
ever in the past made an appeal against oppression and
tyranny of any kind and in behalf of freedom and
justice. I come to you almost from the synagogue where
yesterday was held a magnificent public service to the
American opening of the ancient Passover festival that
has been observed unremittingly during all the centuries
by the Jewish people from the days of the exit from
Egypt. For the first time in the history of the world
a band of enslaved Hebrews in far-away Egypt had
the courage to defy the mightiest empire of that age,
and from his lips Moses pronounced the challenge of
defiance to the mighty Pharaoh. That was the first
proclamation of freedom ever heard. It has inspired
every movement for freedom that has since been insti-
tuted in the history of the whole world. It is in your
hearts as it is in mine; that great sacred pnnciple for
which the world war was fought that at last there
63
might be an end made to terrorism, to militarism, to
all those abuses of power that have in the past prompted
men urged by ambition to selfish greed and lust and to
make a rule for the nations declaring that "might is
right" Your Conference is gathered to proclaim the
opposite principle, that only right shall be might in the
future. Your President has referred to the fact that
the people whose blood is in my veins had a land of their
own and a government of their own in Judea. There
is a strong geographical similarity to that fact in addi-
tion to that as compared with Korea. It lies in the
empire on the south of the mighty monarchies of the
Orient, of Persia, of Assyria, of Babylonia, of Media
and the rest, and each year the great rulers of those
countries felt it their business to marshal great armies
and to go forth into combat with the sea on one side
and Judea on the other and the desert on the other, and
they went up and over across the marshes into . the
little narrow land called Palestine, and those thieves
■came down and plundered the ancient temple, and they
came in broadcast and abused the people, murdered inno-
cent women and children, and that condition raged along
through the centuries, and always Korea, being between
Japan and China, was butted back and forth and made
to feel the brunt of the shock of these contending nations.
There are other points of contact, with these little help-
less people unarmed and not militaristic in spirit, the
victim of these conditions which was common in ancient
Judea. There was a people who were bent upon the
higher and nobler and sublimer things in life, whose
ambition was not to glory in arms or dominion, but
whose desire was to proclaim to the world a great
spiritual message of kinship between man and his maker ;
of the supremacy of the moral law and who by His devo-
tion gave the great Scriptures and the spiritual life to
the whole civilized earth, and given the literature that
has framed the institutions that have become the Chris-
tian and the Mohammedan church. All this came out
of Asia. There it again lies and is in notable contact
between us. I was not long ago addressing a conven-
tion held here at the Metropolitan Opera House to make
a protest against the oppression of the Jewish people.
Telegrams had come out of the heart of Poland declaring
that massacres had been instituted against innocent Jew-
ish people. When the Russians overran Poland,
Lithuania and Roumania the Jews were charged with
being spies for the Germans, and when the Germans
64
Uncle Sam's Korean Soldier
came back they charged the Jews with being spies for
the Russians, and so they got it both ways. They were
charged with being allies of the Russians and then with
being allies of the enemies of Russia, and some seven
millions of them were being brutally treated and many
of them murdered, and the stories that we are getting
about the conditions of those people — starvation, misery,
helplessness, sickness — are so appalling that human kind
fails to grasp the enormity of conditions there. The
Jews in the United States of America are responding
to the appeals from their race in the far-off East, and
$15,000,000 has been spent not only for the Jews, but
for other suffering people abroad.
(Rabbi Berkowitz continued at some length describ-
ing some of the details of existing conditions among
the Jews in Poland and what in the name of freedom
and independence the people of this country were try-
ing to do for the oppressed people of other lands, saying
that this country would fall in line and become interested
in the cause of Korea.) I have recited these incidents
as an illustration of how the Jewish heart rebels against
cruelty anywhere, among any people, in any land, and
this is the reason why my sympathies are with you, and
I can sympathize with the millions in your land who
ask for freedom, for justice, for right, for protection
and to be kept free from abuse by any stronger nation.
I read a review of a book that appeared in last Sunday's
New York Times, the title of which is "The Mastery
of the Far East," which is a story of Korea's trans-
formation and Japan's rise in the Orient. I am sorry
that book was published. It tells that the Japanese
are the friends of the Koreans; that they have been
helping them, and that the Japanese really have been
far better materially than the Koreans and that they
have introduced things in that country that are far
better than anything that Korea ever knew, and the
author attempts to prove conclusively what he says,
while the proceedings of your Convention here does not
seem to agree with that. (Rabbi Berkowitz commented
a:t some length on the contents of the book referred to
and quoted from it.) It is a credit to you that you are
here to resent the domination of any people, whatever
they may be, who called themselves friends and have
betrayed their trust. In conclusion I simply wish .to
express to you my hearty sympathy in the effort you
are making to secure a hearing before the world for
your cause, and, whether false or true, as this man says,
65
there is a just God, and if you have been wronged you
are destined to win and gain the freedom that is due you.
President Jaisohn: On behalf of the Congress I
thank Dr. Berkowitz for the clear thought that he has
brought out to us this morning. This is not a Korearf
cause. It is not a question of any particular race of
men. It is a question that involves all races of men; a
question of justice and freedom. It is a question whether
that shall prevail, no matter if it is in Korea or America,
or Palestine or Russia, or any other section of the world.
If they believe in justice at all they believe in it for all
nations and for all people everywhere. Therefore, you
are particularly interested in the Korean cause; that
is natural. But we are fighting in a humble, small way
the battle of humanity. The people who have been
oppressing the Koreans have had the might and the
strength, but if we had a little more ammunition and
a little more machine guns, as I told you yesterday, Korea,
with its high idea of justice and democracy in that part
of the world, would not only govern Korea, but would
teach their very enemy in Japan many things that they
should know; that they should be Christians; that they
should be democratized; that they should believe in jus-
tice and freedom and in consciousness.
We will now be favored with a vocal solo by Mr.
R. K. Lee.
VOCAL SOLO BY MR. R. K. LEE
President Jaisohn : I wish to call to the platform
a gentleman who has been very friendly to us and who
has been faithful in serving our cause and who has been
help IS in many ways in securing publicity and making
known our cause through the newspapers of Philadelphia.
He has worked in the night for the newspapers and in
daytime he has worked for us in this Congress, and I
would like to have him come on the platform so that you
may all have a good look at him, and he will address you
brieflly. I take great pleasure in presenting to you Mr.
George Benedict.
66
ADDRESS
By Mr. George Benedict : Mr. President and gen-
tlemen, I am very grateful to you for having given me
an opportunity to speak to you on this most historic
occasion, and I am very grateful to you for the education
which I received from contact with the members of this
Congress. (Mr. Benedict referred to his efforts in behalf
of the cause of Korea's freedom, Dr. Jaisohn's co-opera-
tion with him and declared his intention to continue work-
ing for and with the friends of Korea until Korea was
free.) It is my hope that Korea will become a free
republic, and that you yourselves who have become Chris-
tians through missionaries will become the missionaries
of the Far East. I am with you in brain, in heart and in
soul to the end. I feel that Korea will be free and if it be
God's will may it be speedily accomplished.
President Jaisohn: Ladies and gentlemen, we
have had at this Congress different representatives from
the different churches. On the first day we had a minister
from the Episcopal Church, on the second day we had a
priest from a Roman Catholic Church and this morning
you heard the views of a Jewish Rabbi. We have here
today another minister, who is my personal friend and
who looks after the spiritual welfare of my family. I
take great pleasure in introducing to you. Reverend Cros-
well McBee, Rector of St. John's Church, Lansdowne, Pa.
He has come to us this morning to express his feelings
on this cause which you are fighting for and to advocate
Christiamty and humanity. Dr. McBee will tell you his
feelings, and he will now speak to you.
ADDRESS
By Rev. Croswell McBee : Ladies and gentlemen,
there is nothing that can so uplift the people of Korea as
the thought that over here there are people who, while
they are far away today, are, nevertheless, praying for
you and are in sympathy with you and are in every way
willing to help you. I think they somehow feel that they
have your interest at heart and they would like to travel
across the waters and help you. You have just as much
right to be free as to have the enjoyment of the air. I
am quite sure that over in the Orient there are many
67
thousands of souls who ask that there shall be established
the principle of freedom in your country. Let them
realize that you are aspiring towards that end.
President Jaisohn: We have with us again this
morning Rev. Dr. Floyd Tomkins who wishes to read an
announcement.
Rev. Dr. Floyd Tomkins: Gentlemen, I desire to
read to you a report of communication from the Federa-
tion of Churches signed by Dr. MacFarland proclaiming
that the Federation of Churches and the ministers of that
body in the United States will stand up in an appeal to
the world to make every country independent and free,
and that includes Korea. (At this point Dr. Tomkins
read the report.)
President Jaisohn: If we had many friends like
Dr. Tomkins we would find our work very much easier.
You can rest assured that the clippings that have been
brought out can be traced to the activity of the press
bureau which the Japanese maintain in this country.
They are backed by the Government, spending thousands
of dollars, and I know there are a good many writers in
the pay of the Japanese Government in this country today.
I know that some ministers of the gospel are going around
the country today defending Japanese action and speak-
ing to the detriment of the Koreans, but they are misin-
formed and have come under the influence of Japanese
diplomacy, or Japanese gold, or hypnotism, I don't know
which. Dr. Berkowitz referred to an article in the "New
York Times" in his address this morning, and that is
one of the few leading papers in this country which
seer » be rather Pro-Japanese; I don't know why;
but o.x.^d you people have come here I find that all the
Philadelphia papers, which at first did not seem to be
familiar with your cause. After being told more about
conditions in Korea, they write very sympathetic articles.
In other words, they are putting Korea on the map as
far as Philadelphia is concerned.
President Jaisohn: We will next hear from the
68
committee which was appointed yesterday to draw up
a petition to be sent to Washington and to the Peace
Conference in Paris. I will ask Mr. Henry Chung, the
chairman of the committee, to read the report. (Mr.
Henry Chung read the report as follows, a copy of which
was sent to the President of the United States, Wash-
ington, D. C, and another to the Peace Conference in
Paris) :
"We, the representatives of all Koreans residing outside of
Korea, in Congress assembled in Philadelphia, Pa., April 14-16,
1919, have the honor to request you to recognize the Provisional
Government of the Korean Republic, organized March 1, 1919,
representing the will of the entire Korean race of more than
20,000,000 people.
This Provisional Government is republican in form, and its
guiding spirit is that of true democracy. Men of liberal educa-
tion and mostly of high Christian ' character constitute this
government
Our sole aim is to regain the inalienable right of self-
determination for our race, so that we may be able to develop
as a free people under the guiding principle of Christian
democracy.
We beg respectfully to point out that Korea was an inde-
pendent kingdom until the year of 1905, and that in 1882 the
United States was a party to the covenant guaranteeing the
integrity and independence of Korea.
We submit this request to you recognizing your splendid
championship of international justice, and also to you as the
chief executive of the great Republic which has always stood
for democracy and the rights of small nations.
May we have tiie joy and happiness of receiving your favor-
able consideration of our petition?
With deep respect,
(Signed) C. H. Chung,
P. K. YooN,
C. H. MiN,
Philip Jaisohn, Ex Officio"
President Jaisohn: We would like to get your
views on this petition. The committee was authorized
to draw up this petition and send it to the President of
the United States, but it was the sense of the commit-
tee that a document of this sort should be sent to the
President, as well as to the Peace Conference at
Paris. If you have any other ideas to present, this
is the opportunity to do it. The petition was brought
before the Congress that it might be read and accepted.
Mr Ough moved that the petition to the President of the
United States and to tiie Peace Conference at Pans be accepted
as presented and read by the chairman of the committee.
69
The motion was seconded and carried.
President Jaisohn: There was a suggestion in
favor of having an information bureau in Philadelphia.
The purpose of the bureau is to give out truthful infor-
mation concerning Korea and in every way to co-operate
with the American friends to give them facts, so that
they may understand and may be able to help you
intelligently.
Mr. Min : I wish to make a report of the decision
of the Executive Council held yesterday afternoon and
evening. This question about establishing an organiza-
tion to perpetuate the work of this Korean Independence
League, the report has been prepared and we have
received a dispatch from San Francisco requesting that
Dr. Philip Jaisohn be appointed as the representative
of the League on this work in the Korean Central Cor-
respondence Bureau. I am glad to report to you that
Dr. Philip Jaisohn has kindly consented to accept the
appointment by the Executive Council of the Korean
National Association, so I think there is no necessity
of discussing this question this morning. I know that
Dr. Jaisohn will carry out his work faithfully.
President Jaisohn: The idea of having a bureau
or an organization at some eastern point where it can
do a certain amount of missionary work is good. I
do not like the word "propaganda," because that was
used in connection with the Germans' campaign of pub-
licity here. We do not want any conflict with the offi-
cials of the United States Government. There is an
underlying meaning that there is something hidden,
som g crooked in the word "propaganda." Let us
get away from this word and use a word that every-
body can understand ; for instance, "spreading true news
about Korea, the true facts about the Korean people."
That is not Latin, nor has it any French in it, but is true
Anglo-Saxon, and the object is to spread the truth about
the Korean people. That is the function of this bureau.
I appreciate the confidence of the Korean National Asso-
70
ciation to name me for this position, but I will only
consent on the ground that I will act in an advisory
capacity and not in the doing of any actual physical
work. Dr. Ssmgman Rhee is a man of wonderfully high
attainments, and I know that you have absolute con-
fidence in him as your leader, who has a history cover-
ing the last twenty years. He is a man who has gone
through hellfire and brimstone; he was five years in
jail because he believed in Christ, and he is worthy
of your confidence. You have another man here, Mr.
Henry Chung, who is a graduate of the University of
Nebraska, and he holds a fellowship in the Northwestern
University. He is an experienced writer and has friends
among the magazine writers and has an extensive circle
of acquaintances. He is a very valuable man, and he
can help to give publicity to our cause and help the
American writers to prepare articles about Korea. He
can supply them with the facts and the truth. If these
two men will do the actual physical work and give it
their time and let me act, as my duties will permit, in
an advisory capacity, I will gladly accept the honor and
will do what I can for you, and you can depend on that.
However, no organization will succeed unless it has the
hearty support of the people who compose that organi-
zation. Every man and woman who belongs to the
organization must use their best efforts in support of
it and to the fullest extent. Without your support this
organization, or any other organization, will not last
very long, or at least it will not be able to do effective
work.
On motion, a recess was taken until 1.30 P. M.
71
THIRD DAY— AFTERNOON SESSION
President Jaisohn called the Congress to order at
1.30 P. M.
The minutes of the morning session were read and,
on motion, approved.
President Jaisohn : It is the desire of the Congress
to sing the Korean National Hymn. I will ask all the
delegates to rise and sing.
Mr. Henry Chung explained the origin of the song, the music
of which is the same as the Scotch "Auld Lang Syne."
PiffiSiDENT Jaisohn: I am in receipt of sad news.
Mrs. Caroline Kennedy O'Neill, an American lady whose
home is in New York City and who has given generously
to the people of Korea and founded one of the main
schools, which has been in charge of Dr. McCuen, whose
letter was read here this morning, has passed away. I
understand that some of the delegates here in this Con-
gress were taught in the mission school established by
Mrs. O'Neill. It is proper that this Congress send a
telegram of condolence to her daughters. She has two
daughters surviving her. If you want to go any further
it will be a gracious act on your part to have a set of
resolutions drawn up and properly engrossed, expressing
your sjmipathy at the death of one of the benefactresses
of Korea and forward the same to her daughters, which
will ' ippreciated by them.
ivir. Y^onnick Leigh moved that the secretary of this Congress
be instructed to send a telegram of condolence to the daughters
of Mrs. O'Neill, and that the president of this Congress appoint
a committee of three to draw up suitable resolutions to be prop-
erly engrossed and forwarded to the daughters of Mrs. O'Neill.
The motion was seconded and carried.
President Jaisohn : I will appoint as a committee
to send a telegram of condolence and to draw up resolu-
72
tions and have the same engrossed and sent to the
daughters of Mrs. Caroline Kennedy O'Neill :
Me. Cho Lyhm,
Mr. Leigh,
Me. Chung.
We are about to adjourn this Congress and there
are a few more things to do. Since the delegates have
come to this city we have made arrangements with the
Police Department of the city in regard to the parade
that will proceed from this place to Independence Hall.
The city authorities of Philadelphia gave us every
courtesy possible, and the police have been co-operating
with us in every way, much to their credit and to our
great satisfaction. This Congress should authorize the
chairman of this meeting to write a letter to the police
authorities, thanking them for the courtesies extended
to the members and officers of this Congress. We also
should give a vote of thanks to those gentlemen and
ladies representing newspapers of this city, who came
here primarily for the purpose of gathering news, but
after having spent a few days with us and heard the
stories being told and learned what we were fighting for
they became true and enthusiastic friends of Korea. One
gentleman told me that if he had the run of his
paper there would be little space left for advertising,
as it would be filled with news and cuts bearing
on the proceedings of this Congress. However,
they have done very well, and we thank the members
of the press of the city for their co-operation and for
the publicity they have given our cause. It will be proper
for you to take official recognition of these mattera. We
do not want to forget our friends who delievered
addresses to us. We have made friends of them and they
will help us in our cause. Men like Dr. Tomkins and Dr.
Dean and Rabbi Berkowitz came here and have become
our friends. You have accomplished a great deal in
securing the co-operation of a man like Dr. Tomkins.
That man's value to your cause is worth several regi-
ments of well-equipped soldiers to you in your fight for
liberty and independence.
73
Mr. Henry Chung moved that this Congress extend a vote
of thanks to the authorities of the City of Philadelphia for their
co-operation in making this Congress a success; a vote of thanks
to the members of the press of the city and also a vote of
thanks to the speakers who were kind enough to address this
Congress at its various sessions, and to include a vote of thanks
to all who have participated and taken an active part in the
proceedings of the Congress.
The motion was seconded and carried.
President Jaisohn: I will write a letter to those
parties who are not present here today, but I will con-
vey the message to the members of the newspaper repre-
sentatives who are present in person and tender to them
the vote of thanks just passed by this Congress, for the
accurate and fair manner in which you have presented
our proceedings in your papers.
At our morning session I made some reference to
an editorial which appeared in one of our Philadelphia
papers. The point is so thoroughly covered by an edi-
torial in today's "Philadelphia Record" that I will read
it to you at this time, with a request that it be embodied
in the record of the proceedings of this Congress :
KOREAN INDEPENDENCE
The presence in this city of a delegation of Koreans,
who wUl meet in Independence HaU today to proclaim
the independence of their country, just as the Czecho-
slovaks did a few months ago, will recall to some
persons an episode in international relations which
cannot be called creditable to the United States.
Korea, as is well known, was until a few years ago
a self-governing nation. "For over 4000 years," the
official statement of the visiting delegates says, "our
country enjoyed an absolute autonomy. We have our
own history, our own language, our own literature
and our own civilization. We have made treaties with
the leading nations of the world; all of them recog-
nized our independence, including Japan."
Ine of these treaties was with the United States,
I in it this country solemnly pledged itself to
uphold the territorial integrity of the Hermit nation.
Notwithstanding this treaty obligation, no protest was
made when Japan, following the termination of the
Russo-Japanese war, gobbled up Korea and calmly an-
nexed it to the island kingdom. Indeed, when a dele-
gation of Koreans came to this country and sought to
interest Theodore Roosevelt, then President, in the
unhappy plight of their people he refused even to
receive them or to recognize that the treaty imposed
any duty whatever upon this country. This was cer-
74
tainly a curious performance, but not so curious as the
reasons which Mr. Roosevelt gave in his book, "Amer-
ica and the World War," for his attitude of scorn and
contempt for this wronged and feeble nation. In
explanation of his absolutely ignoring the obligations
imposed upon the United States by its treaty with
Korea, he wrote:
To be sure, by treaty it was solemnly covenanted
that Korea was to remain independent. But Korea
was itself helpless to enforce the treaty, and it was
out of the question to suppose that any other nation
without any interest of its own at stake would attempt
to do for the Koreans what they were unable to do
for themselves.
In the light of recent events that seems a heart-
lessly brutal and cynical statement. A whole world
of old-time ideas lies between that callous sentiment
and the finer promptings of humanity and good faith
that are calling the League of Nations into life.
Korea is entiUed to its independence, and we hope
it will get it. It will find a world now more respon-
sive to its appeals than when its delegates knocked in
vain at the White House door a dozen years ago.
(President Jaisohn continuing) : Mr. Roosevelt
was a grand man and one of the most brilliant statesmen
America ever produced, but on this program his argu-
ment seems to be a little lame. Roosevelt says, "We can-
not do that because the other fellow cannot help him-
self." If the other fellow was able to help himself
what is the use of getting somebody else to do the work
for him? Korea needed help and America would not
give her the help she needed, and, according to Mr. Roose-
velt's argument, they did not give her the help she needed
because Korea could not help herself. I am not a states-
man ; I am a business man, and Mr. Roosevelt may have
had some other reason for the position he took at that
time.
At this time I will ask Dr. Reimer, of Swarthmore,
to say a few words to us.
ADDRESS
By Dr. Reimer: Gentlemen, ten years ago I met
Dr. Rhee at Pittsburgh. I recall saying to some one
before I had met Dr. Rhee that the most eloquent address
delivered at that gathering was by a Korean, Dr. Syng-
man Rhee. I am glad to tell you that I am in hearty
accord with what I have heard at this Congress, and I
75
am in sympathy with you in your desire and hope that
you will have the principle of self-determination put m
practice and that you may attain to the religious ideals
which all of you have been enjojing in this land and
which you want to enjoy also in your own beloved Korea.
You are not going to be discouraged because your
resources are small or because you are not very wealthy
as a people, or because your army is not as large as
the armies of other peoples. No people are too little
or too poor to think big things in the eyes of Almighty
God. I will give to you this counsel : That you be abso-
lutely unafraid, no matter how powerful opposition may
be today. Don't let yourselves be intimidated. In 1914
the German Kaiser sent a special messenger to ex-Presi-
dent Theodore Roosevelt to try to have him curb his
speech against German-Americans; to make him keep
still and not to use his influence against the Germans,
but to be in sympathy with the aims and aspirations of
the German Empire. He had requested his messenger
to say that he trusted that the cordial reception which
Theodore Roosevelt had received in Berlin would always
remain fresh in his memory. To this messenger ex-Presi-
dent Roosevelt said, clicking his teeth, "Tell his Majesty
for me that I thank him for his cordial message and
that I remember my visit to Berlin with the greatest
pleasure, precisely with the same pleasure that I remem-
ber a similar visit which I paid at the same time to
the King and Queen of Belgium." That was the mes-
sage that ex-President Roosevelt sent to the Kaiser.
Within an hour you are going to the Shrine of Liberty
in this city, which you are visiting. You have been most
felicitous in your choice of Philadelphia as a meeting
place for your deliberations, and your spirits will be fired
with fresh patriotism, with a refreshed ardor and with
renewed zeal as you go into Independence Hall. That
represents a page in American history which some of
you have read. At the end of the Constitutional Con-
veni and upon the adoption of the constitution of
the ^x.»ved States of America, Benjamin Franklin rose
and, facing Washington, said:
"Sir, as we have met in this convention again and
again I have looked at that golden sun painted on the
back of the chair above your head, and I have often
wondered whether that sun is a rising or a setting sun,
but now I know that it is a rising sun." Oh, my friends
of Korea, to you as you think of your own people and
76
of your own nation, and of your own ship of state and
of your own sun of destiny, no longer let there be any
question in your mind as to whether that sun is a ris-
ing or a setting sun, but be sure there are thousands and
thousands of American friends, be assured of that in
our hearts, and I believe in the heart of the Great Eternal
the thought is supreme that the sun of Korea is a rising
and a shining sun.
President Jaisohn: I thank Dr. Reimer for the
scholarly address. We have another eminent visitor
with us this afternoon, who is one of the leading min-
isters of the Christian Church in the City of Philadel-
phia and who sympathizes with all that is just, all that
is righteous, and he is especially interested in the sup-
port of Christianity in Korea. I take great pleasure in
presenting to you Dr. Clarence E. McCartney.
ADDRESS
By Dr. McCartney : Mr. President and ladies and
gentlemen, it strikes me that this is almost a heavenly
occasion because of the invisible spirits of justice and
mercy and truth that are about you this afternoon, and,
more than that, the spirits of the great leaders and
prophets and dreamers of your race in the past, and,
more than that, the spirits of the men who have suffered
and died before this dream which engages your atten-
tion this afternoon is carried out. Two of my
best friends who were with me at Princeton College
are in Korea. I have been told that one of them is in
jail as a Korean patriot, under sentence of death, and
I have been wondering if anj^hing that I might say
here or that you might do here is going to make it
more difficult for them or in any way further endanger
their lives ; but even were it so I know that their love for
the Korean people is such that they would not have me
keep silence at this place and at this hour. This looks
like a day of small beginning, but a man would be dull
of soul indeed were he not thrilled when he thought
of the influences that may go forth from this Con-
gress, and when in years to come Korea has achieved
her independence some of you men will look back to
the occasion of this gathering and to this day and to
the pilgrimage that you are about to make within the
hour to the Shrine of American Liberty, our Inde-
77
pendence Hall, where the Declaration of the Inde-
pendence of the United States of America was declared
and signed, and you will tell your children and your
grandchildren of it. It is not so much the establish-
ment of a nation in your case as it was in the case of
the American Republic, but it is the restoration of an
ancient nation to an honorable people; the getting ba,ck
of what was yours for centuries and is to be yours again.
We have a great demonstration in recent events of the
power of moral authority. One year ago, just about
this time, the Germans were making their last desperate
assault upon the French and British lines, and there was
a feeling of apprehension and almost of dread in the
hearts of the lovers of freedom aU over the world, but
with all that apprehension one year ago as to the out-
come of that German assault there was a deep-seated
confidence that this German plot against the freedom
of the world could not succeed, because it was conceived
in injustice and carried out in cruelty. At the present
time it may seem to you a very difficult and painful
situation, but you have had the demonstration of the
truth that the mightiest thing under heaven is right on
your side and the sympathies of right-minded people, of
freedom-loving people the world over. Their sym-
pathies are with you, and their interests are with you,
and their prayers are with you. We doubt not but the
day is coming when Korea will take the place that she
wants among the families of nations which God has
planned for her. We haS hoped after the great convul-
sion of this war that the United States and the world
would be settled upon a new basis; that the nations would
find some other way of dealing with one another from
the combat of arms and that the liberties of such people
as the Koreans might be secured and that the shedding
of blood for the king in strife was at an end. How-
ever, I know that the Koreans are ready to suffer and
are able to drink from the cup and to be baptized with
this " ;ism; I know that you are. The Divine plan
for : jnity was this: "That God hath made of one
blood all nations of men to dwell together upon the
face of the earth ; not one under the other, not one over
the other, but to dwell together upon the face of the
earth." May God speed the day when we shall salute
this flag, a flag of every nation of the family of humanity.
PSRESiDENT Jaisohn: I voice the sentiment of the
78
delegates of this Congress when I tell you, Dr. McCart-
ney, that we appreciate your address most heartily and
thank you for your kindness in coming here.
Me. D. W. Lim : I move that this Congress suggest
to all Koreans here and elsewhere that they for just a
moment three times a day, morning, noon and evening,
bow their heads in silent prayer for the independence of
Korea.
The motion was discussed by Mr. D. W. Lim, Mr.
Y. C. Lee, Mr. Taikwon Sur, Miss Nodie Dora Kim, Mrs.
Jaisohn and Dr. Syngman Rhee.
By Miss Nodie Doha Kim : We all realize that God
stands for justice and freedom, and I am sure that God
will hear our prayer. God will hear our 20,000,000 of
people if they will pray for his hdp. I think that when
the Allies were marching against the Germans we all
felt that it was through God's help and through prayer
that they were victorious. They felt that God's help
was necessary and they prayed once a day. If we, as
a small nation who have been fighting with bare fists
against a mighty power, combine our prayers and our
pleadings to God three times a day I think God will
help us. I surely believe there is a great power in prayer.
Me. p. K. Yoon: Let us pass this motion and let
us pray with more earnestness and with more devo-
tion, so that God will help us in this cause.
The motion was unanimously carried.
President Jaisohn called upon Rev. C. H. Min to offer
a prayer.
PRAYER IN KOREAN'rBt: RE-V. C. H. MIN
• ■•••.',• • • • •. •
President Jais6hn\""Qlen 'de'cUred" the Congress
adjourned siTie diei":'' *•;•'.. •
The delegate** then formed in a body;'*iid proceeded
to Independence Hall in:-p^ra4«^ ferm^tion, -each man
and woman carrying ^,K6^^ arid: Araencanlflag. The
body was headed tiy.a platoon of mounted reserves and
a band. •■"...'. :•'•'.".'
AT INDEPENDENCE HALL
President Philip Jaisohn led the delegates into the
room in Independence Hall where the Declaration of
Independence and the Constitution of the United States
were signed. He then introduced the curator of Inde-
pendence Hall, who in a brief address said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, in this room, with John
Hancock sitting in the chair which you see here, with
the table and the inkwell as it is here, with John Han-
cock presiding, the Declaration of Independence was
declared and signed, and the Liberty Bell which you saw
as you entered the room proclaimed the event to all the
world. The chair and the table are the same, and they
are standing on the same spot just as they did when
the Declaration of Independence was signed. In ttls
same room also, with George Washington presiding, the
Constitution of the United States was executed, declared
and signed. It has been suggested that as you leave this
room and pass by the Liberty Bell you touch it with
your right hand."
President Jaisohn: I will now present to you
Dr. Syngman Rhee, who will read the Korean Declara-
tion of Independence.
Dr. Syngman Rhee then read the Korean Declara-
tion of Independence by the Provisional Government of
the Republic of Korea on March 1, 1919, which was
adopted, followed by three cheers for the Republic of
Korea and three cheers for the Republic of the United
States.
THE DECllAFiATlbN' OF KOREAN
.. "l.NDBFtNPEf^CE;
We, the -representatives of '2lf;50O,i}OO united people
of Korea, He*eJor proclaim the independence of Korea
and the libSffyr of the Korean peofil^.- -This Proclama-
tion stands in'witne!^ tQ thB.-eqaality of "all nations, and
we pass itbn to oUr.tloStSrilyVgtsltJi^ir inalienable right.
With 4,000 years of history behind us, we take this
step to insure.to our children for.evg? -life, liberty and
'.''..'•''•• 80 . •■'•■•• •
pursuit of happiness in accord with the awakening con-
sciousness of this new era. This is the clear leading
of God and the right of every nation. Our desire for
liberty cannot be crushed or destroyed.
After an independent civilization of several thou-
sand years we have experienced the agony for fourteen
years of foreign oppression, which has denied to us free-
dom of thought and made it impossible for us to share
in the intelligent advance of the age in which we live.
To assure us and our children freedom from future
oppression, and to be able to give full scope to our
national aspirations, as well as to secure blessing and
happiness for all time, we regard as the first imperative
the regaining of our national independence.
We entertain no spirit of vengeance towards Japan,
but our urgent need today is to redeem and rebuild our
ruined nation, and not to discuss who has caused Korea's
downfall.
Our part is to influence the Japanese Government,
which is now dominated by the old idea of brute force,
so that it will change and act in accordance with the
principles of justice and truth.
The result of the enforced annexation of Korea by
Japan is that every possible discrimination in educa-
tion, commerce and other spheres of life has been prac-
ticed against us most cruelly. Unless remedied, the con-
tinued wrong will but intensify the resentment of the
20,000,000 Korean people and make the Far East a con-
stant menace to the peace of the world.
We are conscious that Korea's independence will
mean not only well, being and happiness for our race,
but also happiness and integrity for the 400,000,000
people of China and make Japan the leader of the Orient
instead of the conqueror she is at the present time.
A new era awakes before our eyes, for the old world of
force has gone and out of . .thq 'traVail of the past a new
world of righteousnes&..a3ja- trutR h^s-Tjeen bom.
We desire a fuil"jiieasure"o?'ss9js'f&ction in liberty
and the pursuit, of* -Ihappiness. In hW "hope we go
forward. ,'••'."* *■.'.'••■•'
We pledge .the- following.: . '•-■■"*.
1. This work o| o^T&'.iS&'hi Ibeh^lf/bf truth, justice
and life and is'undeitaken' af {He- reqrfest of -our people
to make known, their desire for liberty, Let there be
no violence. '. '".'■*• ,••'*••*•
2. Let those who follow us show every hour with
gladness this same spirit,
3. Let all things be done with singleness of pur-
pose, so that our behavior to the end may be honorable
and upright.
The 4252d year of the Kingdom of Korea, 3d month,
1st day.
Representatives of the people:
The signatures attached to the document are:
Son Byung Hi, Kil Sun Chu, Yi Pil Chu, Pak Yun
Song, Kim Won Kyu, Kim Pyung Cho, Kim Chang Chun,
Kwdn Dong Chin, Kwan Byung Duk, Na Yung Whan, Na
Yimi Hup, Yang Chun Paik, Yang Hun Mok, Yi Yo Dur,
Yi Kop Sung, Yi Muin Yong, Yi Suing Hui, Yi Chon Hun,
Yi Chon II, Yim Yi Whan, Pak Chun Sang, Pak Hi Do,
Pak Tong Won, Sim Hong Sik, Sim Sok Ku, Oh Sai Chung,
Oh Wha Yun, Chun Chu Su, Che Song Mo, Che In, Hang
Yong Yun, Hong Byun Ki, Ho Ki Cho.
After the reading of the Korean Declaration of
Independence, the delegates formed in line and as each
man passed the Liberty Bell he touched it with his right
hand.
At five o'clock P. M., April 16, 1919, in Independence
Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the delegates to the
First Korean Congress held in the United States finished
their work and adjourned SINE DIE.
62
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11